Title: Living with HIV
Grandmother copes with deadly virus
Date: June 27, 2005

OCALA – Dee is unsure how she contracted the HIV virus. It could have been
from a blood transfusion in 1966, but she doubts it. The more likely
culprit, according to the 55-year-old grandmother, is a long-ago
relationship that went bad.
However she contracted the virus, Dee’s diagnosis hit her like a truck.

“I really didn’t believe it,” she said. “I was ready to kill myself.”

After the initial shock wore off, however, Dee began to learn to live with
it.

She still struggles with many aspects of the disease, she said. For one
thing, she guards her secret from her grandchildren and from neighbors..
For this story, she would consent only to using her first name.

She said she wants people to understand that having HIV is not an absolute
death sentence. But living takes work. She takes 20 pills a day, and
doesn’t dare miss a dose.

“You don’t say you’re going to skip them today, not if you want to live,”
she said.

Dee is one of an estimated 1.1 million people in the United State – and
34,508 in Florida – infected with the HIV virus, according to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. Right here in Marion County, 468 people
live with HIV/AIDS.

Those tallies could go up today as health officials around the United
States participate in the 11th Annual National HIV Testing Day, a day
established by the National Association of People With AIDS to promote HIV
testing and AIDS education.

The theme this year is “Take the test, take control.” Locally, the Marion
County Health Department will administer tests for free at the main
office, 1801 S.E. 32nd Avenue in Ocala.

“We want our citizens to take control of their health,” said Johnny
Thompson, public information officer for the Health Department.

Dr. Nathan Grossman, director of the Health Department, agrees.

“It is important for the citizens of Marion County to know and understand
their HIV status,” Grossman said. “This knowledge allows individuals to
make timely and appropriate preventive and treatment decisions for
themselves.”

There are three main types of testing for HIV – blood, urine, and oral..
The Health Department will test blood.

Lake County will also will offer free testing at the Mt. Dora Clinic.

Soul Harvest Ministries and Project Healthy Choices will also will offer
free testing in the Ocala area.

Candace Lewis-Khufia, chief executive director of Project Healthy Choices,
said her organization will offer Ora-Sure testing beginning at 3 p.m.
Ora-Sure is the oral version of HIV testing.

For Dee, being diagnosed was a key event that allowed her to begin dealing
with the disease. But she bemoans what she says is a lack of resources for
HIV sufferers.

“I want them to get their heads out of the sands,” she said of the
community. “I want them to understand that anybody at any time can get
this.”

Thompson, however, said local health officials don’t have their heads in
the sand. The Health Department, he said, understands very well the plight
of HIV patients and works to get them help through such offerings as the
Medicare Waiver Program, AIDS Drug Assistance Program, and the Case
Management Program, all of which are in Marion County. There are also
federal programs to help citizens.

He said officials also can refer patients to resources in nearby counties,
such as the Ryan White Program in Alachua County.

“I hate for our citizen to feel that way,” he said of Dee’s criticism.

Dee’s gets by on faith and hope.

She said she relies on her faith in God and the power of prayer.

“I talk to Him every morning and I say good night to Him,” she said.

Beyond that, Dee takes life day by day, moment by moment.

“You don’t plan for anything,” she said, “because you don’t know what the
day is going to bring.”

Copyright (c) 2005 Ocala Star-Banner
Author: SHAKA LIAS STAFF WRITER
Copyright (c) 2005 Ocala Star-Banner