Shawn Decker

Happy Birthday, My Almost Brother

2014-03-06T23:19:07Z

I'm not consistent on Facebook- I don't check in every day, or see updates from people I'm close to. I don't post my every brainfart or rehash the latest celebrity gossip. Often times in real life someone will say something, I'll look clueless, and they'll respond with: "Oh, I posted that on Facebook." My catchphrase these days has become, "I miss everything on Facebook."

Part of that is a conscious decision. I don't want to be glued to my iPhone. And I don't feel guilty if I miss wishing someone a happy birthday, though I do get tickled when mine comes around and there's a ton of well-wishes. I do get the appeal of social networking- it was what I built my decision to open up about HIV around... the vastness and immediacy of connecting with friends, and strangers, is a pretty damn cool thing. If the internet wasn't around when I decided to talk about HIV in 1996, then things for me would have been a lot different.

Having a past that doesn't include the internet is a pretty damn cool thing, too. I'm glad I didn't have to worry about a cyber-presence in junior high school, or high school. I'm sure my peers back then would have been less forgiving about missing those birthdays.

Which brings me to an old pal whose birthday is today, something I noticed by chance yesterday while logged into Facebook. Ryan Almarode. I met Ryan a couple of years after my HIV diagnosis. I was 13, he was 12. According to his Facebook profile, he is celebrating his 73rd birthday today. In actuality, he's been gone for almost a year now, having taken his own life...

I have so many coming of age stories and vivid memories of my friendship with Ryan. We formed our first bands together- he played guitar and I played keyboards. Along with our friends, we were collectively known as The Demonic Doves. We never had a gig and seldom had a full band practice. I remember one Christmas morning, Ryan and I stumbled upon a gas station that was open after a moderate search. He bought me a hot cocoa and I bought him a cupcake or some kind of sugary sweet treat.

Overall, we were bored out of our minds. I reminisced about times we shared before. He said, "In a couple of years, we're going to look back at right now as the good ol' days." The comment immediately resonated, and that hot cocoa tasted all the sweeter as we plunked quarters into the Mat Mania arcade game.

After I'd disappeared for a few months, in the throes of my first love which ended in devastating fashion, I found myself at home alone. Bored and depressed. A knock at the door summoned me from my bedroom. "Hey man, I'm sorry you got dumped," Ryan said in an awkward greeting. Then his eyes met mine, and his face lit up with a huge smile. "But I'm so happy for me! I thought my summer was going to suck!" He dragged me out of the house for a Slurpee, and the party was on until we got busted for being drunk teenagers in public a month later.

After some problems at home, Ryan moved in with me and my family for a few months. My parents were about to sign papers making them his legal guardians, but his family decided against it at the last minute. Not too long after, Ryan started to party again but I was too scared of getting in trouble again... I mean, my dad was an ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control) agent.

I made new friends, Ryan was hanging out with old friends. Though we drifted apart, we always took advantage if the fates reunited us. I can't remember ever being around the guy and not sharing a soul laugh- even if it was often at someone else's expense. For me, Ryan was always that voice in my head, the hilarious thing I wouldn't dare to say. That voice had a mouthpiece in Ryan Almarode. And he had the charisma to pull it off and not piss people off for too long.

One time in high school, my history teacher was absent. Since we had a substitute, Ryan figured he'd sit in class with me and goof off, knowing the substitute wouldn't pick up on the extra student. (He was always right about that kind of shit.) Our assignment was to write about a prominent figure of the Civil War. I told him our teacher really loved this general of the South. Ryan smiled and choose that guy as the subject of his essay.

When he handed me his work at the end of class before we turned in our papers, I couldn't believe what I read. It went something like this, "How could he think his untrained army of backwoods rednecks could compete with the well-trained units of the North?" A full two-pages just tearing down the teacher's hero in brilliant fashion. Literally, to this day, one of the funniest things I've ever read. Despite my concerns, Ryan passed the paper in, never to be seen in that classroom again. I still smile at the thought of how the teacher must have reacted to Ryan's well-constructed and cutting words.

During my teenage years, I just wanted to ignore HIV. I wanted to be as normal as possible. Mark Roys, TJ Overton and Ryan Almarode helped to make that happen. Much in the same way Jared Lambert and Michael Robertshaw helped me have a normal childhood with hemophilia.

But with HIV, the stakes were so much higher. And in my friendship with Ryan and our shared sense of humor, he showed me that normal is overrated. And reminded me often that I wasn't normal: a fact that had nothing to do with my HIV status.

I'll never forget you, Ryan. Happy birthday, old buddy. You don't look a day over 40.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Why I Don't Have Dallas Buyers Remorse

2014-03-03T23:49:39Z

This year, The Academy Awards were once again touched by the hand of the AIDS epidemic. In 2013, AIDS activists rejoiced when How To Survive a Plague was nominated for Best Documentary. A decade before, Nicole Kidman won for Best Actress in 2003's The Hours... and a decade before that, Tom Hanks got the nod for Best Actor in Philadelphia in what was, before this past weekend, AIDS' greatest triumph at Hollywood's biggest night of the year.

But a funny thing happened on the way to Oscar night...

When both Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto won Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes two months ago, each actors' acceptance speech failed to mention AIDS. Much like the trailer for the movie, there wasn't mention of the medical condition that figures so prominently in the movie's plot. And, as an AIDS educator, I get it- the word "AIDS" scares a lot of people. Get them in the theater and entertain/enlighten them by any means necessary.

In regard to the AIDS community's outrage over the Golden Globes speeches and the omission of our struggle... I really didn't get it. I don't expect actors to be activists. They play roles, do the job and get in and out of character and on to the next role.

I saw Dallas Buyers Club in a theater, which was more than I expected after hearing about the movie months before its release. I figured it would be an indie flick that wouldn't find its way to my hometown theater and that I'd catch it half-a-year later on Netflix. The fact that it got so much buzz after its release made me happy- friends of mine were going to see it on their own without me (the "friend with AIDS") nudging them.

So last night, both actors won again on Oscar night.

Jared Leto mentioned the millions of people who died from AIDS at the tale-end of his acceptance speech, certainly making amends with a portion of the AIDS community... but Matthew McConaughey, the biggest winner, remained mum on HIV/AIDS. He also failed to mention the name of the man whose life he interpreted for the film. Matthew did mention God, and a vision of his father doing a little victory dance in Heaven for him. Which made me wonder: if pressed, could Matthew picture Ron Woodroof in that vision of Heaven, sharing that tender moment of glory with dad?

Who knows. I don't know Matthew personally. Perhaps he does think Ron is up there, too. And perhaps he didn't mention AIDS in his speeches for fear of offending anyone with a clumsy comment about HIV/AIDS? He has a famously loose style- so maybe we should be thanking him instead of ridiculing him for his choice of words...

I, for one, am not mad at McConaughey. He rescued a dead script from obscurity and breathed life into the performance. An actor mentioning AIDS out of obligation at an award's ceremony might give us, those living with the virus, a good feeling inside. But I believe it does very little to educate those in the dark or get them truly interested in the cause. Where an actor has true strength is in the artistry of their craft- and in choosing the role of someone living with AIDS, McConaughey took a risk and it paid off for him professionally. He did his job.

So kudos to Matthew and Jared for going out on a limb and attaching themselves to Dallas Buyers Club. Just because they portrayed people living with AIDS, I don't expected either of them to emerge from their roles as, say, an activist like Peter Staley of How To Survive a Plague. In fact, after the Golden Globes speech fiasco, Peter himself said: "I'm just happy Hollywood has made an AIDS film again. The crisis is far from over, so we still need reminding. And I hope Matthew McConaughey wins an Oscar."

Hear, hear.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Congrats to Wanda- The New T-Cell Champ!

2014-02-28T08:31:02Z

With a guess of 591, and my actual t-cell count coming in at 590, we have a new t-cell champion in Wanda Vawser! (That's her lovely dog, Oscar, joining in the celebration and helping to let Wanda know about the good news.)

Thanks to everyone who participated. My hat's off to the new champion. Wanda, you've been such a kind supporter of the HIV/AIDS work I do. It's my absolute pleasure to be sending the signed copy of Body Counts your way!

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Labtest Contest X: Win Body Counts By Sean Strub

2014-02-21T20:23:32Z

The Labtest Contest is back! And the grand prize has never been better- guess closest to my t-cell count and win a signed copy of Sean Strub's incredible new book, Body Counts! The rules are posted below... be sure to follow them and good luck!

But before we get to the rules, I need to inform you of a slight change. For the first time ever, I will be competing in the contest. The prize is just that good. Sure, I already have my own copy of Body Counts, which I adore, but it isn't signed. Think of it as an extra challenge, or an AIDS-y version of Win Ben Stein's Money...

The competition will undoubtedly be stiff. And I'm not guaranteed a win by any means. In fact, my own doctor, Greg, is venturing a guess for the first time, too. To make sure my guess and my doctor's are seen, I'm going to dramatically increase the font size.

Shawn's Guess: 422
Shawn's Doctor's Guess: 670
(I went with a lowball guess to balance out my doctor's high one. Been feeling great and haven't been sick in a while.)

Previous Champions...
March-July 2010: Charles Oliff (guess: 567 actual count: 565)
July-December 2010: Aimee Lee (guess: 516 actual: 511)
December 2010- March 2011: "Satan" (guess: 666 actual: 662)
March-July 2011: Sharon Paul (guess: 520 actual: 508)
August-January 2012: Justin Starkenburg (guess: 570 actual count: 579)
February- June: Bob Geise (guess: 595 actual count: 590)
July-September: Sahara Frog (guess: 515 actual count: 512)
September-January 2014: Scott Anderson (guess: 620 actual count: 620)
February-October: Mary (guess: actual count:585 actual count: 583)
NOVEMBER RESULTS: 538 (No Contest)

Official Rules
1. You have to post your guess (between 400 and 700 t-cells) on my Poz blog Comments section
2. Relatives are allowed to guess! Bribes accepted!
3. Closest guess wins- if it's a tie, the closest guess that DID NOT go over the actual count wins.
4. One vote/guess per person. Must have a valid email address.
5. Deadline is Friday, February 28, 2014 12:01 am EST

A Boy, A Virus and the Education of a Community

2014-01-20T20:29:19Z

Recently I was contacted by Brian Bridgeforth, a fellow Waynesboro, VA native and the little brother of a longtime classmate and friend, Patti. (I believe Patti and I met in Kindergarten in 1980, and graduated together in 1993.) Brian works for the Waynesboro Heritage Foundation and invited me to write a guest blog entry about how my testing positive for HIV at age 11 affected our hometown.

(To read the full post, please visit The Waynesboro Heritage Foundation website!)

"Despite being born with the bleeding disorder, hemophilia, I enjoyed a pretty typical childhood growing up in Waynesboro. I lived in a quaint neighborhood, just a few skips down the sidewalk from my best friends. Summers were spent swimming at my grandparents' pool and many hours were dedicated to the latest Atari games when I wasn't outside pretending to be Rambo in a game of war.

Yes, I am a child of the 1980s.

And one of the most impactful events of that decade was the emergence of HIV/AIDS. It was during a time when there were gaping lapses in blood safety standards. Due to my reliance on blood products for treating my hemophilia I was at risk for HIV infection. There were signs that my immune system was compromised in the 4th grade when half of my body broke out in shingles. I did not receive a standard HIV test until two years later in 1987. It was the spring of my 6th grade school year and, aside from a bout with strep throat, it was one of my best years until I failed that "pop quiz."

After I tested positive for HIV my mom informed my teacher of the results. My teacher had concerns about the risk of transmission to my classmates, and when she spoke with her doctor it started a chain reaction of fearful reactions that led to me being kicked out of school. I wasn't allowed back in class for the last four weeks of the school year..."

(To read rest of the post, click HERE!)

Positively Yours,

Shawn

Body Counts by Sean Strub

2014-01-14T21:37:33Z

Sean Strub's memoir, Body Counts, hit stores yesterday, and Gwenn and I were fortunate enough to get to our local bookstore just in time to nab the last three copies: one for us, one for my mom (who is a huge fan) and one for a future Labtest Contest prize.

But, don't wait around for me to get labwork done in March for a chance to win this book, if you have any interest in the history of the gay community, the politics of sex and the realities of living with HIV- you've gotta get this book. Click on Sean's face to read an excerpt of Body Counts in the latest issue of Poz.

Sean has been one of the most influential people in my life as a positoid. Without him, I really have no idea what I'd be doing right now. In 1996, after nearly a decade of living with HIV, I decided to speak out about being positive for the first time; I was 20, still living with my parents in Waynesboro, Virginia, and had just put up a website chronicling my thoughts on living with HIV. My doctor fed me a few issues of Poz Magazine and I was stunned that a magazine solely about HIV existed. I poured through its pages and loved what I read. I sent a fan letter to the editor-in-chief, Sean, and shared where I was at in my own journey with HIV.

A month or so later, I was watching wrestling and the phone rang. "Shawn, telephone!" My dad/secretary called out through my bedroom door. My beloved Ric Flair had just lost his World Title; I was bummed but took the call anyway. It was Sean. He invited me to NYC to be interviewed for the magazine and shortly thereafter I started writing my Positoid column.

When I learned that my original godparents had broken ties with my family in the 1980s after my diagnosis because their church said AIDS was God's punishment against gay people, I asked Sean and Steve Schalchlin (another beloved mentor) to be my surrogate Godparents. They both readily accepted.

All of that personal history and admiration aside, it was hard to tear myself from Body Counts to post this blog- it really is an incredible book and an honest, forthcoming account from someone who has a truly unique set of experiences to draw from.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

HIV "Cure" in Miracle Water

2014-01-12T21:45:44Z

The word "cure" is getting thrown around a lot these days. There is a lot of promising research taking place and I am in hopeful place that in a decade's time (give or take) I'll be living a life free of HIV... or, at the very least, a life free of the daily routine of taking HIV medications.

Science will ultimately prevail.

But in the meantime, there are charlatans who claim they have the cure right now. The other night I was watching TV at the ungodly hour of 4 am, which I guess is appropriate considering the fella whom I happened upon.

Peter Popoff. Apparently he's been at it for three decades and was exposed in the 1980s as a fraud, yet here he is today making millions of dollars offering people magical debt cures and miracle water that can cure HIV and just about any other medical condition you may have. Here's the HIV part of the infomercial, forgive the poor quality of the video which was recorded from my phone.

It's incredible that- for the right price- someone can run an ad like this. It preys on the gullible and the desperate and could have devastating consequences. If there is a God and there is a Hell, I think there's a special place in the latter for people like Peter "Fuckoff" Popoff.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Operation AIDS Elves

2013-12-19T23:26:33Z

So I'm somewhat remiss in not posting a blog entry on World AIDS Day. Which got me to thinkin'- how can we extend the magic that is World AIDS Day deeper into the holiday season?

And that's how Operation AIDS Elves was born.
It's a simple, fun way to spread some HIV/AIDS awareness during the craziness that is the holiday season... so, if you have a few extra red ribbons lying around, put them to good use! Here's my friend and all-around good positoid, Rob Quinn, working his AIDS elf magic during a visit to NYC. And that's me sneaking a ribbon onto a tree at the coffee shop and one onto the tree on the downtown mall.

Regardless of how you are or aren't celebrating the holiday season, I hope this message finds you happy, healthy and at peace with yourself. There is no greater gift in this world than self love and acceptance- and that's a gift that we are all truly worthy of.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

The War on Blowjobs & Ken 'The Cooch' Cuccinelli

2013-11-04T21:53:45Z

This Tuesday (tomorrow) my home state of Virginia is hosting an intriguing race for Governor, pitting the sitting Attorney General, Ken "The Cooch" Cuccinelli against Terry McAuliffe.

I'm voting for McAuliffe. To be honest, The Cooch scares the hell out of me. He is in favor of keeping "crimes against nature" laws on the books, making sexual acts such as blowjobs and buttfucking illegal. In addition to those pressing issues- which he claims are ways to further punish sex offenders- he also believes that any woman who is raped should be required by law to give birth.

One of Ken's first acts after being elected as Attorney General was to send out a letter to every college and university in the state of Virginia, informing them to simply ignore any pressure to not fire someone based on their sexual orientation.

In the letter he wrote:

"It is my advice that the law and public policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia prohibit a college or university from including 'sexual orientation,' 'gender identity,' 'gender expression,' or like classification as a protected class within its non-discrimination policy absent specific authorization from the General Assembly."

Ken Cuccinelli comes across as the kind of guy who is one Science Fair mishap or bizarre lightening storm away from being transformed into Spider-Man's next arch nemesis. The more power he gets, the rougher things are going to be. He's had a good run, but it's time to band together and stop him. If you live in Virginia, or have friends who do, please make them aware of how important this election is.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

20-Year High School Reunion

2013-10-23T21:52:40Z

A week and a half ago I attended my 20-Year High School Reunion. In the months leading up, I had the same feeling most people do in regard to these kinds of affairs: did I really want to go? Would it be more fun than awkward?

Thankfully, one of my longtime friends whom I've stayed in contact with was part of the organizing team. I agreed, knowing he would be there. As the event drew nearer, any fears of the event being a negative thing floated away. I started to get excited about the prospect of seeing classmates who wandered the halls alongside me for so many years, each one of them coming of age at roughly the same rate as I did.

Another plus is that I only live about 30 miles away from my hometown. When classmates from Denmark, Columbia, Germany and Poland started RSVPing, I thought it would be pretty lame if I didn't make the "effort" to show up. Knowing how I felt initially about the reunion, I wrote to a few friends who hadn't responded yet on the Facebook Event page, hoping they'd come out, too.

And when the night arrived, I was so thankful that I'd been open to it.

After about the third conversation with classmates I hadn't spoken to in 20 years, I suddenly felt like I'd stepped into a time machine. In re-connecting with familiar and friendly faces from the past, I in turn reconnected with my 18-year old self. That guy who graduated with absolutely no plan of what to do with himself from that point on.

Since Gwenn and I have been so public with our relationship, many classmates have been able to keep tabs on me at a distance. I received so many kind words for the HIV education we do- even spouses of classmates whom I'd never met before heaped praises on me for My Pet Virus. I know that most of my classmates knew I was HIV positive back in high school- even though I never talked about it then- and it was great to be able to finally speak openly with them about it.

After the reunion, Gwenn joked with me about being the darling of my class, which is a dead-on assessment. The odds of me making it to a 20-year reunion were quite long, and when I was diagnosed with HIV in the 6th grade, my mom's pie in the sky goal was getting me to high school graduation.

When the reunion neared, I was asked to make a "welcome" speech to the class. I kept it quick and casual, but I made a point to mention those who could not make it- we've lost a few classmates along the way, with varying degrees of tragedy. Keeping their spirit in mind during the celebrations was important because, even though they weren't there that night physically, they too walked those very same footsteps as we did.

As for the next reunion, whether it's in ten or twenty years, I plan to be around. And, hopefully by then, I'll be walking through the door without HIV in tow.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Surviving Bleeding Disorders and HIV

2013-10-04T17:55:34Z

This month I wrote an article for Poz.com about what it was like for three young men, who were born in the 1980s with a bleeding disorder. Mark tested positive at an early age and wasn't expected to survive childhood- he is now the proud father of twins. Nick was born just before blood products were made safe- he shares a harrowing near-death experience, while Justin was born just after blood products were made safe; he evaded HIV, but had to calm his mother down when she found out he was gay. Thanks to all three for being so candid! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Positively Yours, Shawn

False HIV Rumors About Miley Cyrus

2013-10-03T01:53:08Z

Wednesday night a group of bottomfeeders from 4chan launched a cowardly, anonymous online campaign entitled "Cure For Miley". The goal? Presumably it's either to trick people into thinking the singer is HIV positive- Oh my God, how awful for her reputation, what an insult (dripping sarcasm)- or to shame her overtly sexual public performances.

Now, I'm no Miley fan. And yes, I could stand to see a little less of her tongue. Though, if someone had to be forced to never reveal their mouthsnake again, I'd banish Gene Simmons before I'd exile Miley's flavor saver. Still, that's not the story here- what pisses me off most about this campaign is that it's underlying theme is: what could be more embarrassing and shameful than HIV?

Well, I don't think HIV is embarrassing- or shameful. I've been living with it for most of my life. It's a virus. A pesky one that can make life harder than it needs to be sometimes. But I do my best to stay healthy while dealing with the distraction of having to educate and enlighten people to the facts about HIV, while dispelling the rumors.

What is shameful and embarrassing? Posting anonymously online in an attempt to discredit, embarrass or shame someone else. Any jackass with no dignity or grace can do this. Look at YouTube Comments, do you think those people are happy with their lives? The loathsome losers who started "Cure For Miley" think they've done something great- all they've done is make stupid people laugh, and make some people with HIV roll their eyes and hang their heads.

Like Miley? Hate Miley? It doesn't matter. At least she's out there, doing her thing, taking all of the criticism that comes when you reach the top of that chosen profession. Maybe actual names and faces will be attributed to this lame campaign, maybe not. Either way, I for one am not letting these idiots off the hook.My message to them and the rest of the ever-growing population of cowards who hide behind their screen names is very simple.

Die soon and make the world a better place.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

GREAT Lab Results on Hep B

2013-10-02T22:30:59Z

My lab results came back today on my hepatitis B Viral Load follow-up tests... and, it's gone down. Considerably. From 100,000 copies at four weeks ago to less than 20 copies. I couldn't be more thrilled about this development.

This means I won't have to add Truvada to my current regimen of Prezista/Norvir. It also means that my mom's hunch was right- the spike in my hepatitis B viral load must have been related to all of the blood product treatments I received in August. My doctor was taken aback by the results, and I was mentally prepared for the worst... there's been so much bad news lately, today was desperately needed.

So, cheers to turning points. This is most certainly one for me. If you're out there and struggling with medical shit- my heart goes out to you. And godspeed on reaching your own turning point.... hang in there.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

B Patient...

2013-09-25T21:55:21Z

In August I had a pretty hefty dose of concentrated blood plasma to treat a hemorrhage. My childhood was filled with these kinds of episodes, but not since I was a kid had I been exposed to such a hefty dose of other peoples' clotting factor.

When I told my mom about my spike in hepatitis B viral load, she said that back in the day my liver enzymes would go through the roof after any serious hemophilia-related activity. I shared this information with my hematologist, who acknowledged the likelihood of my mom's enzymes theory but didn't think that applied to hepatitis B viral load results.

This week I went in for another round of labs to see what exactly is happening with this hepatitis B viral load business. My doctor okay'd this wait-and-see plan, but told me not to expect the B to go down on its own after three weeks without a little nudging from Truvada...

But I'm hesitant to start Truvada right away. The point of starting on a lesser intake of HIV medications with this 800 mg of Prezista is, well, having to take less mgs of medication. I've done well on Truvada, Reyataz and Norvir in the past as far as combating HIV goes. So I'm confidant that switch would work out fine. Still, I'm hoping that, despite the odds, this hepatitis B nonsense sorts itself out. As fun as it is to reunite with an old childhood friend, I'd be thrilled if hep B gently faded back into its rightful place in my life.

Which is in the past.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

New Adventures in HIV Medication Part 2: The Lab Results

2013-09-11T21:30:57Z

I posted a blog entry in late July about my decision to switch from week on/week off treatment of HIV to a continuous regimen that consisted of a lower dose of HIV medication. Well, this week I got my 6-weeks-in lab results and....

There's good news and bad news.

The good news is that the 800 mg of Prezista (with a 100 mg booster of Norvir) did it's job in keeping HIV under control. My viral load remained undetectable and my t-cell count jumped from 508 in May to 659- my third highest count ever. But the confetti that was supposed to fall from above got blown out the window by the ceiling fans. See, my hepatitis B viral load, which has been long dormant, awakened.

Hepatitis B hasn't been an issue for me since the 1980s, when my main priority was perfecting my backspin and searching for slabs of cardboard large enough to break dance on. I feel like I've been performing all of the classics this summer, especially after the big hemophilia conundrum last month.

So, right now I'm weighing my options. Either stick with the Prezista plan and add a component that addresses the hepatitis B dilemma, or just go back to week on/week off. I'm not completely bummed out by this result, though it was bit surprising to hear from "an old friend" in hep B. That's because I haven't really felt any different over the last 6 weeks, which proved to be a very hectic time filled with company, that big show and then dealing with that hemorrhage... I just felt like my tired old self.

I'm wondering if that spike in hepatitis viral load has been a culprit in my low energy levels?

That's why I'm leaning towards altering my current treatment plan. Prezista is obviously working for me on the HIV front. If I add something to the mix to address the hepatitis B I may be good to go. Will definitely keep you guys updated- and I hope this message finds you healthy and/or happy. As tired as I've been feeling, I know it's of the utmost importance to keep my attitude positive. If you're dealing with a medical hiccup, try to remember that as well. I know it can be hard when you aren't feeling your best, but it's harder to maintain your health and do what's best when you're down in the dumps.

Positively Yours,
Shawn