In the mid ’90s, HIV-positive children were not allowed to attend traditional summer camps. Confronted with such inequity, Mike Mizwa, Sara Selber, and a few other inspired AIDS Foundation Houston employees and volunteers decided to create a camp where children with HIV would not only be welcome, but could experience the joys of summer camp in a medically and psychosocially supportive environment.
As a lifelong lesbian, I have no first- hand experience with male sexuality, or penises, for that matter. Though I have many gay male friends, I don’t pretend to be an expert in the area of hot, man-on-man action, either. What I do know about is HIV.
The numbers are staggering. Since 1981, over 25 million people across the globe have died as a result of AIDS. Worldwide, it is estimated that 42 million people are currently living with HIV, and lamentably, another 14,000 become infected with HIV every day! The most heartbreaking aspect of this situation is that it doesn’t have to be this way. We know how HIV is transmitted and we know how to prevent new infections.
If you are living with HIV/AIDS, there are things you can do to help yourself stay healthy. I’ve seen with my own eyes the impact lifestyle choices can have upon HIV disease progression. While they are anecdotal and not scientific, my observations focus on two very close friends (both gay men who were infected through sex) and the ways in which their behaviors and attitudes influenced their health.
Extrapolated from statistics found on the City of Houston website (www.houstontx.gov), there are an estimated 21,209 persons in our city living with HIV/AIDS. That’s about one in every 100 people. Another of our citizens becomes infected with HIV every nine hours.
The agency has opened its fourth international Camp Hope program for children infected with HIV/AIDS. The first camp, which took place in December, served more than 26 children in Malawi, Africa.
AIDS Foundation Houston (AFH) is founded, as an offshoot of the Kaposi’s Sarcoma (KS) Committee, by a group of local medical professionals and community activists. AFH was created to provide support and assistance with daily living to persons with AIDS. AFH is the first AIDS service organization established in Texas and one of the first in the nation.
Colonoscopy. The blue sign’s crisp white letters are medical, unflinching. A bold arrow pointing down the gray-carpeted hall leaves no guesswork about which way we need to go. Go may be the wrong choice of words, considering that’s all my sweetheart has been doing since she drank the required bowel-cleansing potion at 5 last night—that after a day of fasting. She followed all the prep instructions for her colon exam, bravely downed the broth, filtered apple juice, and endless glasses of water. I felt callous munching on my after-dinner Fig-Newmans.
The best way to keep in touch with what's going on in Houston? Sign up for our newsletter, which is jampacked with features, special invites, discounts, and sneak previews reserved for newsletter members only. .
