RIP Broadway Composer Michael Freidman

[Ptrk3]

To all the newly diagnosed out there, this is a very unusual occurrence in 2017, so there may be more to the story, so please do not get discouraged.  Remain adherent to your antiretroviral regimen and you will live a long and healthy life.

May he rest in peace.

https://www.poz.com/article/broadway-composer-michael-friedman-dies-hiv-aids-related-complications-age-41

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/10/theater/michael-friedman-co-creator-of-bloody-bloody-andrew-jackson-dies-at-41.html?mcubz=0

Peter Staley Facebook post:

https://www.facebook.com/peterstaley/posts/10214382032964140

[PittGurl]

Yes this unnerved me. So young, just DX in July and 2 months later dead?!?!

[Ptrk3]

Very sad, indeed.

But the message to those now diagnosed (and especially to those newly diagnosed) can best be summarized by Peter Staley's comments in the link provided.

Key excerpt:

How does HIV still kill in the U.S.? Most of the deaths can be pegged to the stigma around HIV/AIDS. Folks avoid testing, and find out too late, or mentally avoid their diagnosis, and become reluctant to seek care. Others burn-out on treatment, especially those who lived through the plague years and suffer from multiple complications from the early drugs and untreated HIV. And there are plenty of cases of medical malpractice, where docs fail to update regimens to find one that matches a patient's needs. And we die for the same reasons Americans die at higher rates from all diseases -- our shitty healthcare system lets us fall through the cracks, with mediocre coverage or no coverage at all.
But if you're HIV positive, 41, and taking your meds each day, HIV doesn't have some secret trick that's going to sneak up on you and strike you down. You're going to be okay. Life is hard enough without having to worry about bizarre what-ifs.

*****

So, to all those currently living with HIV, especially to the newly diagnosed: adhere to your antiretroviral regimen and mind your health with other lifestyle choices to live a long and healthy life.  Mourn for Michael Friedman's passing, and for all those who have so passed, but renew your resolve to adhere, persevere, endure.