Guest Speaking Part 2, AIDS, Videography

So yesterday I was a guest client speaker for a Santa Cruz AIDS Project volunteer training. I sat there all day waiting for my turn to talk. I asked the presenters not to disclose my HIV status until I talked. They were nice enough to do so and I learned somethings I didn't know. Even us people who try to educate about HIV/AIDS can always learn from others. Well they were running late and the meeting went over it's time. I was suppose to have a half hour to talk. That was cut down to 20 minutes. I made my presentation in 15 minutes. There were a few important items I wanted cover but missed. I hope the new volunteers got a lot out of my presentation.

One of the things I learned was, when you are diagnosed with AIDS. Meaning your T cells are under 200 you stay an AIDS patient even if your t cells go above 200 like my T cells. I always thought you reverted to being HIV positive and I was wrong in my thinking. So today, I found out technically I'm considered to have AIDS. Needless to say, I had the presenter reiterate that statement. Then I had to walk out of the room from this shocker. So instead of having HIV, I have AIDS. I brought up this shocking point during my presentation.

After the training was over, some people came up to me thanking me for sharing my story. I did my presentation about an hour and a half after finding out technically I have AIDS. One young gentlemen approach me asking if I would be his subject for a videography for a class project. I'm granting his wish to be his subject for his video.