About Me: 

Welcome to my journal. My name is Rick and I am sharing this information with you because I do not want you to live like I do... You see, I have known that I have HIV for 17 years.

People always ask me how I became infected. Well, I have to tell you that I do not know. Yes, I am a gay man, but I was also an IV Drug user who shared his needles and I also had unprotected sex with many women before I even knew anything about protecting myself, or even what HIV was. Just because someone is gay does not mean they have HIV. But a lot of people assume that, or think that if someone is gay that they will, or do carry HIV. Here's the facts...

Current statistics show that the largest growing population being infected are our youth. Kids ages 15 - 24. And they are being infected at an estimated rate of 13 every 5 minutes, or 3750 every day around the world. Think about that! And women are being infected at an incredible rate as well.

So, I am trying to help you understand that this is not over yet. Far, Far from it. We are still dying, and living with this. And more are living with this that I care to imagine...

Feel free to browse around, tell me what you think. Read and learn. We all need to know this stuff.

Lets get some basics out of the way...

I am 39 years old and live in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  I am the site administrator for the Midwest AIDS Prevention Project, the largest statewide HIV prevention agency in my state.  I am currently involved with a great man and I have two dogs, a Pomeranian and a Lab/Chow mix.  My health is fair, as the newer meds are holding the virus somewhat at bay.  Let's keep our fingers crossed that it stays that way.

I share my story as an ongoing journal here, and if you care to read about the life of a gay man with HIV and what I do about it, please feel free to read on. But be warned, the pages are long. There is a lot of reading, and I do not hold back. Parents should consider not letting children read this alone. Read it with them so that they can learn about things in the right way. Only through open communication with our children and ourselves, will we begin to combat this virus to make sure that we will survive. Remember... The only cure to this date that we have for HIV is prevention. PERIOD!

Someone once referred to this site as my "poor me" web site. I hope you do not feel the same. I use this site as a way to educate; and to try to communicate to others living with this damn virus; that we continue to remember that we are not alone. Also, I do it for those who are interested, to see how someone with HIV maintains their life.

If you feel I am only trying to get sympathy, I ask that you forget it. You may want to move on from this site. I don't want sympathy nor do I care for any pity. I make, and have made my own choices in life and as my mom always says, "Sympathy can be found between shit and syphilis in the dictionary!" 

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