Against the odds: Life, Health and Service Choices-News-Newton Press Mentors-Newton, IL

This is Part 3 of a 20-part series

For many who have been sentenced to medical death, the pace of time seems to be accelerating, but life is screaming. For David patients, HIV/AIDS meant that life was just beginning.

The patient was a rare phenomenon. As a sensitive and emotionally distressed young man of suicide, the 22-year-old realized that not only did he want to live, but the virus in him also wanted to live. Therefore, in 1983 the patient and his illness, which had puzzled medical researchers around the world, became an ally.

After his initial diagnosis as a terminal, the patient moved from his Las Vegas home to Florida. So in 1986, he took part in the very first human trial of an antiretroviral (ARV) drug called AZT (azidothymidine).

The patient soon became ill with side effects. As a result, he and one other dropped out of the court.

As of 2004, when Patient co-authored the book The Healer Inside You, he and the other two who dropped out of the AZT trial were only two of the first trials still alive. The patient later learned that the death was not from the drug itself, but from the higher doses administered in earlier trials.

Also, in the late 1980s, patients suddenly stopped using illegal drugs, which they had been engaged in for years to paralyze chronic depression. This has led to productive decisions such as learning to be a chef, joining a support group for people with HIV/AIDS, and being accredited as a hypnotherapist. Skills that assist patients in helping people with HIV/AIDS manage pain and suffering when they die.

Dedicated to personal growth, education, and social support, the patient transformed from a reckless young man into a caring and focused adult. He helped establish the first AIDS agency in Florida and was honored by President Clinton for his work in AIDS in 1992.

During these years, patients were also involved in “long-term nonprogressor” studies that required regular visits to the laboratory.

“Non-progressive” is an HIV-infected person whose immune system is not compromised after decades of infection. However, the patient had his immune system initially weakened after diagnosis, but later improved-without drugs-does not meet the technical definition of “non-progressive”.

(This was a phenomenon reported in only 3% to 7% of people living with HIV in the 80s and 90s).

The patient experienced a rare improvement in his health before effective medication was available, but he was not an advocate for medicines. He believed that sick people should use whatever they could at their disposal to improve their symptoms.

Prior to the availability of effective HIV / AIDS medications, patients supported themselves and others through counseling and skilled use of nutrition.

But when effective drugs for HIV/AIDS became available, patients lined their necks to ensure that even underserved people could access them.

In 1992, the patient moved to California, where he began practicing counseling.

Meanwhile, returning to South Africa, where patients were raised, the long-standing apartheid government had come to an end.

In 1990, anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was released from 27 years in prison. This fueled a new hope for democratic South Africa.

Since David Patient was banished from South Africa since he was 18, these political changes excited him to return home (see Part 2 for details).

Until then, patients have found ways to support fellow South Africans with HIV / AIDS by shipping ARVs (antiretroviral drugs) abroad.

He lived in San Francisco at the time, and HIV/AIDS patients were given free ARV to manage the disease. The patient started working in an agency, collecting unused drug and sending it to South Africa after the death of a free San Francisco-based ARV recipient, making it available to those who need it when they lack service. ..

The patient returned to South Africa for the day to be able to teach the indigenous people how to use effective drug therapy, psychosomatic science, and nutrition to support their mental, emotional, and physical health.

Although his journey on containment and prevention of illnesses had only just begun, he had already survived the first medical death sentence for nearly a decade.

to be continued…

In the current global crisis, patient heritage is as relevant today as it was decades ago. His lifework is an example of where we can enrich the quality of life for humanity everywhere in the world. It is shared as a mirror to our own personal development and the magnitude of our impact on the community in the current crisis.