AWARE Talk Radio, the nation's most widely distributed weekly radio news show that deals with health issues including HIV/AIDS, launched a series entitled Heroes in the Fight Against AIDS Dec. 4.
The program is hosted by long-term HIV survivor Chris DeChant and LaVeda Peterlin. Each month throughout 2005, two individuals will be profiled. Scheduled individuals include outspoken activist and ACT-UP founder Larry Kramer; Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of The National Institutes of Allergies and Infectious Diseases; Cleo Wilson, executive director of The Playboy Foundation and a former board president of The AIDS Foundation of Chicago; former Olympic diver Greg Louganis; and Lori Cannon, co-founder of Open Hand Chicago and the coordinator of the North Side GroceryLand.
The first installment profiled four individuals who have made significant contributions regarding HIV awareness, prevention, care, and treatment. They were: Ralph Paul Gernhart, founder and publisher of Gay Chicago Magazine; Martin Delaney, founding director of San Francisco's agency Project Inform, which he and Joe Brewer launched in 1985; the late Gigi Nicks, who ( among other things ) helped start the Women & Children's HIV/AIDS Program at Cook County Hospital; and long-term survivor Brian Agne, who volunteers for Test Positive AWARE Network ( TPAN ) and is a personal speaker for The National Association of People With AIDS.
Considering the subject matter, it is hardly surprising that some of the details discussed are personal. For example, Agne said he tried to pretend to live as normal a life as possible after finding out in 1993 that he was positive, but eventually that failed; about three years ago, he switched to medication and changed his regimen—and now he's in a much better place. When asked about what advice he would give to someone who just found out he was positive, Agne said that the first thing to remember is that it is not the end of the world, even though it may feel like it.
In a interview that took place earlier this year, Nicks talked about how normal her life was before being diagnosed with HIV; like many women, she never thought this infection could happen because she was in a heterosexual, monogamous relationship. She also talked about how the disease drastically altered her life. As a worker, she added that one of her most difficult tasks was convincing other women to get tested. ( Nicks passed away this past August at the age of 52. )
For more information, call ( 312 ) 541-8255 or visit www.awaretalkradio.org .