For I've been a distant blogger
for the past year (literally one year ago last week). But, I was distant for good reason, of
course. Actually looking back at some of
my entries on here reminded me that I wasn't in the best of places at this time
last year. It’s not that I haven’t
thought of you, or this blog. The
comments show up in my inbox on a daily basis – still to this day - and I thank
you for them. The real reason for my
disappearance was that I needed to take some time away from the HIV world to
get my live in order.
I’m happy to report that my
life indeed is in order – I have a great job, a loving family, a large support
group that keeps me strong and most importantly, stable health insurance.
Yet, the most important point I’d
like to say is that I've been re-inspired to return to my advocacy and my work
in the HIV and AIDS community. And I
thank everyone in the community, including you, for pushing me to do so. How’d it happen? Well, pull up a chair, grab a glass of wine
and I’ll tell you.
On July 7 and 8, I attended the
aaa+’s (formerly known as the ADAP Advocacy Association)in partnership with the
Community Access National Network, 6th Annual Conference entitled, “AIDS Drug
Assistance Programs: Renewing the Commitment”.
We had people of all backgrounds attend – advocates, doctors,
specialists, case workers, PLWHA, pharmaceutical representatives, individuals
in politics and more. Topics of discussion
included, but not limited to, HIV criminalization, the current state of The
Ryan White Care Act, including where it stands come time for the Affordable
Care Act (ACA), Medicaid and the pathology of HIV and its antiretrovirals.
I was asked to sit on a panel
of fellow bloggers to discuss Access to Care as it related to when I was newly
diagnosed three and a half years ago, which still seems like it was
yesterday. I’ll get back to the
background of this panel in a moment.
Before any of the meetings
began I was warmly greeted by friends and advocates – many of whom I had no
idea would remember me – that I hadn't seen in over two years since the last
time I attended aaa+’s conference. It
was after I was reacquainted with everyone had it started to dawn on me the
mistake I made for turning my back on this community. However, I do believe my breath taking was
needed for my own sanity.
Sitting on the discussions I
re-educated myself on the current stages and next steps for different advocacy
efforts. During the evening reception I
spoke with several women and we had a seemingly lucrative discussion regarding
disclosure of status. This unexpected,
yet stimulating conversation gave me an idea for my next blog entry; with the
help of Wanda Brendle Moss I’ll get a woman’s view to side with mine regarding
disclosure and how it should be addressed differently for gay men from straight
women and other categories – stay tuned.
Back to the conference. At the end of Day 2 was it time for the
bloggers to facilitate what at the time I didn't realize was going to be a most
successful breakout session. Hosted by
Robert Breining, Founder and radio host of POZIAM.com, I sat beside Candace
Montague of TheBody.com and the always lovely and entertaining Mark S. King of “My
Fabulous Disease”. We were off to the
races and each told our stories in addition to sharing our views regarding
access to care following our diagnosis.
Candace, who was able to provide her insight from an HIV negative
perspective, spoke about recently released convicts and returning them to
civilization while making sure they, too have access to care and every day
necessities. The reaction from the
audience was beyond gratifying. Here I
thought to myself prior to the start of the panel, “Why would these people care
about what we have to say?”
Boy, was I way off.
Meanwhile, the reality is that
the community does read our work(s) and care a lot more that I could have
imagined. In fact, just before the
session came to a close, the last comment during the Q&A came from a lovely
lady by the name of Terry of Philadelphia.
In a nutshell, this grandmother explained how when she learned of her
diagnosis she never felt more alone, with no one to turn to for help because
she didn't know of anyone in her life that actually had the virus. Thanks to our contribution of taking HIV and
putting it at a human perspective rather than a clinical one, she felt that she
had a family and that she wasn't
alone and was going to be, “OK”. While saying all this she began to tear up
(and so did a few others). Everyone
clapped at Terry and another woman got out of her chair to give her a hug.
Terry, from the bottom of my
heart, THANK YOU for solidifying my re-inspiration. You’re an angel in so many ways and we need
you just as much as you needed us.
The result: here I am –
returning to my blog and my YouTube page to vocalize myself, once again.
So, to all my avid followers:
Many thanks for reading, thanks for your patience and thanks for allowing me
the time for my hiatus. However, I’m
back now and ready to apply ink to the paper and reintroduce my voice,
including HIV policy, disclosure, advice for the newly diagnosed, etc., in
addition to any HIV-related topics you’d like me to discuss.
With that said let me
reintroduce my voice to those that remember me, and to those that are meeting
me for the first time:
MY NAME IS CHRISTOPHER, I’M 30
YEARS OLD, I LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY, AND I’M HIV POSITIVE AND HAPPY.
Christopher’s
info
Email: cjmyron@gmail.com (Note: HATE MAIL will be
reported)
Twitter: cjmyron
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cjmyron
Links from this post
Host
of the conference
ADAP Advocacy Association
(aaa+): http://www.adapadvocacyassociation.org/
More
info on HIV Criminalization
Sero Project: www.seroproject.com
Bloggers:
Robert Breining: www.poziam.org
Mark S. King: http://myfabulousdisease.com/ (also
find him at www.TheBody.com and the
Huffington Post)