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Dine out to help those with HIV/AIDS

• Published March 21, 2009

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Want to help fund advocacy programs for people living with HIV/AIDS? How about providing care for the constant medical issues? How about helping to provide funding for basic needs of those with HIV/AIDS?

The solution is extraordinarily simple: All you have to do is eat — the more the better.

April 30 is Dining Out for Life, a fundraiser that supports United Communities AIDS Network. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds from the sale of food and non-alcoholic beverages sold that day at participating restaurants will go to UCAN.

A simple meal out — breakfast, lunch or dinner — will go toward helping people with HIV/AIDS in Thurston County and beyond.

In Thurston County, there are 262 know cases of people living with HIV/AIDS. Eight new cases were diagnosed in 2008; 15 in 2007. Across the state, there are 16,700, according to the fourth-quarter HIV Surveillance Report produced by the state Health Department.

But these are not simply numbers. They are real people with real stories and very real needs.

While basketball icon Magic Johnson, who announced he was infected in 1991, is still somewhat of a poster boy for the virus, he is far from the norm.

"He has a comfortable lifestyle," said Susan Schalwick, executive director of UCAN, pointing out that he has access to the best drugs and care. "I don't think he's typical."

But, honestly, I don't think there is a "typical" person with HIV/AIDS. Each person is unique and has their own story.

One man's story

Michael Waggener has his own story. A decorated Vietnam veteran, Waggener battled with depression and drugs in the early '90s.

"A little bit of depression and a little bit of drug use" led to his contraction of the virus and diagnosis as HIV-positive in 1996.

He moved up to Olympia from the San Francisco Bay area with his wife in 2003. Since then, he has been an advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness with UCAN, as well as a beneficiary of its services.

As the current coordinator of the UCAN Speakers Bureau, he spends a lot of time speaking to students about his personal experiences and the dangers of high-risk activities.

"I'll speak anywhere anybody wants to sit and listen," Waggener said. "I speak in middle schools and high schools — primarily Timberline and Tumwater. I bet in the last seven years, I have talked to better than 15,000 kids in Thurston County."

Waggener has had numerous medical battles, including fighting a cancer specific to HIV-infected people.

"The VA brought me back from the brink of death three times," he said.

These days, Waggener said his HIV is considered undetectable. "I have been undetectable for the past six years," he said.

Mother-daughter story

Jessica Colpitt, another member of UCAN's Speakers Bureau as well as a recipient of the nonprofit's services, has her own individual story: Both Colpitt and her 10-year-old daughter are infected with HIV.

"About 10-1/2 years ago, my boyfriend at the time went from being energetic to not being so energetic," said Colpitt, describing a laundry list of ailments she noticed in him, from lethargy to bouts of diarrhea.

"I asked him if he'd ever had unprotected sex or ever used intravenous drugs," she said. "He found out (he was HIV positive) when I was 5-1/2 months pregnant. He told me he had HIV, but he didn't come clean with me about how he got it."

She had blood tests done on both herself and her unborn daughter throughout her pregnancy. They continued to show up negative throughout. Because there was no presence of HIV in her blood tests, Colpitt's doctors urged her to give birth to her daughter vaginally.

A few months later, both were diagnosed with HIV.

"We survived two years without having to take medication," Colpitt said. "Just a few days before her second birthday, she was hospitalized for 14 days."

A tube had to be placed in her daughter to facilitate taking the medications that were necessary to treat her. The treatments were horrific — for both Colpitt and her daughter.

"Every time that it was time for her to take her medication, it would be an hour and a half of diaper changing. She would have one diarrhea movement after another. It didn't matter what kind of diapers I used. It just wouldn't contain it," Colpitt said. "I went through 12 to 18 diapers in an hour and a half."

This occurred three times a day. "It was a painful, traumatizing experience for her," Colpitt said.

At 6, physicians starting working with placebos to get her daughter to swallow pills — horse pills. Working her way up slowly over a six-month period, her daughter was able to take larger and larger pills.

"The pills are really large — like 800 milligram ibuprofen," Colpitt said.

Her daughter's tube was removed and the two have been taking pills to treat their HIV for four years.

Colpitt tells this story to others through the Speakers Bureau program at UCAN. She also volunteers answering phones.

Colpitt, who is on disability, also uses some of the services the nonprofit offers.

"When you're homeless, they get you hooked up with resources to get you into a room," she said. "They've paid my power bill when I've gotten behind, they've paid my phone bill when I've gotten behind."

Neither Waggener nor Colpitt are "typical" carriers of HIV. Many people still consider it a gay white man's disease, Schalwick said. Both Waggener and Colpitt prove that's not the case.

There also are misunderstandings about contraction of the virus.

"The misconception is out there. When they're 18, they think they're immortal. They think if they take pills, they will be fine," Schalwick said.

The reality is, "it takes 15 to 20 years off your life span," she said. "For every person that gets HIV, the price tag is $600,000."

If you are Magic Johnson, that is affordable. If you are like Waggener or Colpitt, that is out of range.

Which is why UCAN's services are all the more important. All you have to do to help is eat.

Dining out for life

What: Dine at any of more than 75 restaurants, and 25 percent of the proceeds from food and non-alcoholic beverages served will go to support HIV/AIDS prevention, care and advocacy in Pierce and Thurston counties.

When: All day April 30

Participating restaurants in Thurston County:

Dirty Dave’s Pizza Parlor

Acqua Via

Waterstreet Cafe

Pellegrino’s Italian Kitchen

Casa Mia (Lacey and Olympia locations)

Mercato Ristorante

Ramblin Jack’s

i.talia pizzeria

Ranch House BBQ & Steakhouse

Sorrento

Darby’s Cafe

Shipwreck Cafe

Budd Bay Cafe

Traditions Cafe & World Folk Art

Cicada Restaurant & Lounge

More information: www.diningoutforlife.org

Definitions

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV): The virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV is in the retrovirus family, and two types have been identified: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for most HIV infections throughout the world, whereas HIV-2 is found primarily in West Africa.

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS): A disease of the body’s immune system caused by HIV. AIDS is characterized by the death of CD4 cells (also called helper T cells), an important part of the body’s immune system, which leaves the body vulnerable to life-threatening conditions, such as infections and cancers.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services



Ruth Schneider thinks everyone should talk to someone with HIV/AIDS and learn from their stories. Contact her at rschneider@theolympian.com or 360-704-6873.