POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => In Memoriam => Topic started by: MarkintheDark on August 19, 2018, 03:02:34 am
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I only came to know Patrick after I moved back to Florida in 1986 following my father's death, by which time Patrick had already survived two years with his ARC (as it was called) diagnosis. To this day, over 30 years later, so much of him and his determination remains with me.
He founded INFORUM, the first AIDS information and referral service in Palm Beach County, in 1984. He also put together its successor, the Comprehensive AIDS Program, still operating today (http://www.belovedcommunity.info/members/pbc/cap.htm), and founded the Persons with AIDS Coalition, a support network for AIDS virus carriers. His published commentary gives a particularly personal and, imo, still-relevant insight into the early days of AIDS (https://www.jstor.org/stable/23715560?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents)
These days when I'm feeling strong enough to advocate for the HIV/AIDS community, I'm consciously aware that Patrick is with me. And on days when I'm not doing so well, particularly when I'm frustrated and angry over the remaining shortcomings HIV/AIDS care, I remember the times that he, too, would freely express his frustration and anger, quite honestly often to the bewilderment of those of us who weren't seropositive. Looking back, it tells me just how clueless many were about his struggles. One of the gifts he gave me was that it's ok to express myself, regardless of whether people get it.
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Correction on Patrick's DOB, 1951.