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PWA Coalition

Seamans, June

English

University of Southern Maine: Digital Commons@USM

University of Southern Maine USM Digital Commons The Scoop Periodicals 12-1990 The Scoop, Vol.2, No.11 (December 1990) June Seamans PWA Coalition Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/scoop  Part of the American Studies Commons, and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons Recommended Citation Seamans, June and PWA Coalition, "The Scoop, Vol.2, No.11 (December 1990)" (1990). The Scoop. 6. https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/scoop/6 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Periodicals at USM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Scoop by an authorized administrator of USM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact jessica.c.hovey@maine.edu. THERE IS LIFE AFI'ER AIDS From Terry,: I met Tim in April 1990 while doing an education program in Rum-ford, Maine. The first day I met Tim, I knew he was a very caring person while talking about his life with AIDS. I could feel his pain, his fear, his need to teach about AIDS. I also felt the love that he had for his life was very strong. I knew how he was feeling! To love someone and have them not understand the disease is very painful. I found it very easy to talk to Tim. I found myself telling him my fears, and how it felt to live with AIDS alone. I never wanted a relationship with anyone because of my disease. For four years I remained alone. Tim changed all of that for me! He came into my life when I was feeling alone and lost, and he made me feel alive and happy. . After spending two days JD Rumford talking and learning about each other, we found that we didn't want things to end there. So we ex-changed addresses and agreed to stay in touch. I am from Bangor and Tim is from Portland so we thought that writ-ing each other was a good way to stay friends. We soon found out that we felt and thought the same way about alot of things. It wasn't long before we knew we wanted our friendship to grow into something more. Still, we were afraid of hurting our friendship by becoming lovers. Yet we also knew we wanted to be together. On May 20,1990 at the Candle Light Memorial Service we started dat-ing. It wasn't long before we came to realize our fears of being alone, of dying, and of starting a relation~hi~. We both realized it would be easier 1f we joined together. We never thought about marriage, just about being to-gether. Soon, we found that we loved each other very much and wanted to be together forever. OnAugest 16,1990; Timasked me to marry him and I said YES!! .... We wanted to wait until May of 1991 for the next Candle Light Service but I wanted my youngest daughter ( who is also a PW A) in the wedding and was worried about her health. So on De-cember 15,1990 we will become hus-band and wife. From Tim,: In April of 1990 while doing an AIDS education program in Rum-ford, Maine I met Terry. From that moment on, my life has never been the same. I tell people during my educa-tion programs just exactly what it's like to live with AIDS in my life. How alone I was, how afraid, and of all the turmoil that I was going through. But I had never heard a story like Terry told. I remember thinking to myself that Terry and I had alot in common. I also felt that compared to her life, my problems were nothing. I felt the bu~, the pain, the loneliness, and the empti-ness that she was talking about because those are the very same things that I myself was going through. Yet I never never really go into great details about those kinds of feelings myself. Afterwards, Terry and I had the chance to spend some time getting to know one another. Yet it seemed as if I had known her for years. I could already feel a bond between us grow-ing. I never thought that I would ever be able to share my life with anyone ever again. But I had never met anyone like Terry. She had so much to share and give people during her educational speakings, yet no one to share with in her real kife. We started writing back and forth as I lived in Portland and she in Bangor. Then one day, even though I was scared to death, I asked her out on a date. And on the day of the Candle Light Service, we went out on our first date. From there, we grew closer and I knew that I had fallen in love with Terry. On August 16,1990 I asked Terry to marry me and she said yes. 17M AND TERRY WIU BE MARRIED ON DECEMBER 15,1990 IN BANGOR, MAINE DDIUPDATE CRI held a forum on July 31, to provide people with AIDS informa-tion available about the drug DDI, an antiviral drug related to AZT. Results from the initial Phase 1 study of DDI produced encouraging r~ts, ~d provided information on possible toxic side effects. The continuing Phase II studies, being conducted at many New York sites and around the country, will provide further information on the best way to use the drug to produce the best results. Bristol-Myers Squibb has taken the unprecedented initiative to provide DOI, free of charge, to individuals who are not well enough or eligible to enroll in the controlled Phase II stud-ies. Preliminary reports indicate a lack of serious hematological toxicity. The results of an analysis of the safety data available from the Phase II and expanded access program were presented. Bristol provided the fol-lowing information: The potential for toxicity from DDI is greatly reduced through appro-priate monitoring, and accurately iden-tifying the factors which can lead to toxicity. Individuals had 30 times greater chance of developing pancreati-tis if they had previously experienced pancreatitis. Other factors which might contribute to side effects are extremely poor health and very low T4 Cell counts. DHPG, and possibly CMV disease as well, and some antimycobacterial drugs (Rifabutin and possibly other Rifamy-cins) were also mentioned as possible cofactors in toxic reactions. Pancreati-tis was not associated with the concur-rent use of Pentamisine, or the higher dose of the drug. The most common side effect continues to be diarrhea and/ or stomach upset. Serum amylase at entry was not correlated with subsequent devel-opment of Pancreatitis. Monthly amylase determinations, while an important part of safety monitoring, did not always detect pancreatitis. Close monitoring for early signs has significantly re-duced the number of fatalities due to pancreatitis. Serious peripheral (conlinued next page) December 1990 PWA COALITION CALENDAR SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY 2 .... QUILT WORKSHOP PORTLAND NAMES PROJECT 9 Bil ~ 6:30-16 .... QUILT WORKSHOP PORTLAND NAMES PROJECT 23 10 17 24 30 31 z limelight HOLIDAY EVENTS December .5 December 19 December25 6:00 PM 6;00.PM l~OOPM Trim The Tree Party Christmas Dinner Cliristtna$ Buffet 4 8:00 PM POSITIVLY SOBER AA MEETING 11 8:00 PM POSITIVLY SOBER AA MEETING 18 8:00 PM POSITIVLY SOBER AA MEETING 25 5 6 6:00 PM DINNER 6:00 PM TRIM THE TREE PARTY 7:00 PM EXECUTIVE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING 12 6:00 PM POT LUCK DINNER 7:00 PM BOARD MEETING NEWSPAPER DEADLINE 19 6:00 PM CHRISTMAS DINNER 26 6:00 PM DINNER 13 20 27 377 CUMBERLAND A VE PORTLAND ME 7 14 21 28 SATURDAY 11 I World AIDS Day ~ft December l, 1990 8 OPEN 11-4 TERRY 22 OPEN 11 - 4 29 OPEN 11 - 4 11/18/1990 

The Scoop, Vol.2, No.11 (December 1990)

https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=scoop

The Scoop, Vol.2, No.11 (December 1990)

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