Author Topic: Marty Delaney Has Passed (formerly: Martin Delaney in Home Hospice Care) (Read 5786 times)

edfu · « **on:** January 22, 2009, 06:13:25 am »

Martin Delaney, founder of San Francisco's Project Inform and one of the earliest and longest AIDS medical activists--indeed, in my opinion, one of the greatest heroes of the pandemic--has entered home hospice care. This is extremely sad news.

http://www.thebody.com/content/art50181.html

veritas · « **Reply #1 on:** January 22, 2009, 08:58:47 am »

Edfu,

I agree with you totally. When I first learned I was positive, I contacted Project Inform and they saved my sanity. I remember calling their chat line and speaking one on one with others sharing fears and knowledge.
Marty put together a great group and he will be missed. God bless him.

veritas

allanq · « **Reply #2 on:** January 22, 2009, 10:39:14 am »

Marty founded Project Inform in 1985. His "town hall" meetings in the late 1980's provided information and hope to many people like me who were overwhelmed by their HIV diagnosis.

Marty has been a tireless advocate for new treatments and for shortening the cycle for bringing new drugs to the community.

In his understanding of treatment options, Marty was sometimes way ahead of the HIV specialists. In April 1996, he published a warning about the use of the new protease inhibitors. Many doctors, including my own, were advising their patients to add Crixivan or unboosted Saquinavir to their failing regimens. Marty strongly warned against doing this, since it could result in resistance to the entire class of protease inhibitors. The title of his article was The New Era in AIDS Treatment ... One Chance to Use it Right or Lose it. I only wish that I had followed his advice, rather than my doctor's.

Here's a YouTube tribute to Marty from Dr. Anthony Fauci, an AIDS researcher who is the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Dr. Fauci's tribute to Martin Delaney 

Andy Velez · « **Reply #3 on:** January 22, 2009, 11:16:31 am »

Thanks for posting this information.

aztecan · « **Reply #4 on:** January 22, 2009, 10:03:44 pm »

This is sad news.

Thank you for letting us know.

John2038 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 23, 2009, 02:23:50 am »

Hi,

Martin Delaney did a lot for each of us.
No need to say that He deserve a supportive message, a prayer, or a thought.
That's why I am posting this.

Thanks.
John

---------------------

Project Inform: Update on Martin Delaney's Health

By Ryan Clary

January 21, 2009
Dear friends and colleagues,

I've been asked to give an update on Martin's health. I'm sorry thisnews is delivered in such an impersonal way. As you know, there aremany people around the country who love Marty and it is easiest to sendupdates to a group.

Unfortunately, this update does not contain good news. On Mondaynight, Jan. 12, Martin was admitted to the emergency room with manysymptoms associated with advanced liver disease. Since then, his healthhas taken a turn for the worse and he is showing signs of kidneyfailure as well. He has since been discharged from the hospital and hasentered home hospice care. At this point, all treatment is forminimizing discomfort.

Cards with supportive messages are greatly appreciated and havehelped Marty in this difficult time. You can send the card to ProjectInform. We will make sure they are delivered promptly. Our address isafter my signature below.

If you would like to send an e-mail instead, please send it to me. Put Marty's name in the subject field. You can also leave a comment atthe bottom of this page. I will print it out and deliver it along withthe cards. I will not read any e-mail you send me with Marty's name inthe subject field, so feel free to be as personal as you'd like. Isuggest not e-mailing Martin directly, as it is unclear if he will bechecking.

If you have any questions, let me know, but also please be patient as I am getting many calls and e-mails.

Again, I am sorry to deliver such sad news.

--Ryan

Ryan Clary
Director of Public Policy
Project Inform
1375 Mission
San Francisco, CA 94103
phone: 415-558-8669 x224

Note (thebody)

Martin Delaney, a pioneering U.S. HIV activist and the cofounder of Project Inform, has been honored for his long years of tireless work fighting HIV. "It is without hyperbole that I call Marty Delaney a public health hero," said Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), who recently presented Delaney with the NIAID Director's Special Recognition Award. Since the mid-1980s, Delaney has been a leader in providing HIV treatment information to HIVers and health care providers. During the early years of HIV treatment, he played a key role in rapidly accelerating the approval of vital HIV meds in the U.S. (Article from NIAID)

RapidRod · « **Reply #6 on:** January 23, 2009, 03:25:59 am »

There is already a thread on him in the Off Topic Forum.

Moffie65 · « **Reply #7 on:** January 23, 2009, 09:16:28 am »

It is truly sad to read this thread, and to see how few posts it has; which highlights the ignorance of the history of this pandemic currently. Unfortunately, many of the people that knew him and his work, are not here anymore to comment, for they have passed on already.

Such a sad situation, and I grieve for his health and happiness, and don't look forward to his passing. Unfortunately, the liver and kidneys are the two systems in our bodies that are mostly affected by the drugs that make this disease survivable.

Tim Horn · « **Reply #8 on:** January 23, 2009, 11:06:47 am »

I'm extremely saddened to report that Marty passed away at approximately 7:00 this morning, at his home in San Rafael. His illness, fortunately, was relatively short and he died peacefully. He was surrounded by loved ones, including David Evans -- AIDSmeds.com's associate editor and a longtime close and personal friend.

David shared the following in an e-mail this morning:

If there's one thing that I think we can all do in gratitude for what Marty has done for all of us, it will be to make every effort to fill the massive void that Marty leaves behind. Marty was bound and determined to keep the fire under the asses of researchers, government and industry to find a cure for HIV disease. The least that we can all do is to keep that fire burning brightly.

I cannot echo David's words strongly enough.

A memorial service for Marty will be announced at a later date.

Tim Horn

Peter Staley · « **Reply #9 on:** January 23, 2009, 11:42:28 am »

I just posted a blog entry, including a video tribute from Anthony Fauci from earlier this week:

http://blogs.poz.com/peter/archives/2009/01/americas_most_i.html

komnaes · « **Reply #10 on:** January 23, 2009, 11:56:59 am »

It's sad to hear this news. I didn't know Marty well but back when I was volunteering for GAPA in San Francisco I met him in a few meetings and could still remember how impressive his knowledge and communication skills were. I was just among many people that he'd educated and trained, but he definitely had left his marks and a lasting impression on many, me included.

Andy Velez · « **Reply #11 on:** January 23, 2009, 01:31:20 pm »

Dear All,

This is very sad news. Marty was a stalwart, a tireless warrior whom I remember from my earliest years in fighting HIV.

Rest in peace, Marty. Well, well done.

J.R.E. · « **Reply #12 on:** January 23, 2009, 04:18:14 pm »

It's been a very difficult week. My deepest heartfelt sympathies go out to Marty's family and to those who knew him well.

In sadness, RIP Marty-----Ray

edfu · « **Reply #13 on:** January 23, 2009, 05:54:19 pm »

Quote from: Moffie65 on January 23, 2009, 09:16:28 am

Unfortunately, the liver and kidneys are the two systems in our bodies that are mostly affected by the drugs that make this disease survivable.

Dear Tim,

Just to set the record straight, the great irony here--if there is any to be found--is that Marty was not HIV-positive, which makes his revolutionary and singularly effective AIDS-treatment advocacy even more heroic and even more to be appreciated. He suffered, for a very long time, with liver problems and cancer associated with Hepatitis B.

That's why, actually, I decided after much cogitation to start this thread in Off Topic rather than Living with.... But if there were anyone not HIV-positive who devoted more of his time and much of his life to solving HIV's problems, I can't think of them. Marty in that sense, certainly, lived with HIV 24/7 for over twenty-five years. (He helped to smuggle potential drug treatments from Mexico in the early 80s, even before founding Project Inform.) So very many of us with HIV today owe our health and our very lives to his indefatigable efforts.

Official Project Inform press release, with tributes from Nancy Pelosi, etc.:

http://www.projectinform.org/news/2009/012309.shtml

BT65 · « **Reply #14 on:** January 23, 2009, 07:05:18 pm »

This is sad news indeed. I got in touch with Project Inform after testing + in 1989 and they helped me immensely. RIP Martin

ademas · « **Reply #15 on:** January 23, 2009, 07:43:10 pm »

Very sad news.
Godspeed, Martin.

AlanBama · « **Reply #16 on:** January 23, 2009, 10:36:22 pm »

RIP Marty.....

Tim Horn · « **Reply #17 on:** January 27, 2009, 09:28:17 pm »

David Evans posted this incredibly moving and personal tribute to Marty on AIDSmeds and POZ earlier today:

http://www.aidsmeds.com/articles/hiv_martin_delaney_2042_16017.shtml

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Author Topic: Marty Delaney Has Passed (formerly: Martin Delaney in Home Hospice Care) (Read 5786 times)