When were you diagnosed with HIV and what was your reaction?
I was first diagnosed with HIV in 1986 and received an AIDS diagnosis in 1990. My reaction was panic, a sense of loss and fear since at the time it was a death sentence. I immediately went to local ASO’s and got involved in their support programs including volunteering when possible.
How do you make the most of living with HIV?
Living with HIV for me, is all about starting over, again and again. Every time I have a severe health setback that causes me to lose weight, have a cancer surgery, have a bout of depression, miss the ability to work out and build stamina; I start again from where I am and rebuild my body or routine. Starting over after 8 cancer surgeries and two chemo series for Kaposis Sarcoma is about remembering what is possible from a renewed healthy routine of exercise, diet and social engagement. All anyone healthy or sick has in life is a window of opportunity to make the most of life. Keep the window open as long as possible.
What advice do you have for those unhappily living with HIV?
Start over with whatever has worked for you in the past to build a healthy lifestyle. Baby steps at the beginning like just walking to the market instead of driving and adding to the effort as stamina builds does wonders. If you have no experience with building a healthy life style, observe others who have and ask for their help in constructing your own personal healthy routine. Get involved with a local ASO or go online to blog and seek advice.
Tell us about your Sit Relief product and how it came to be:
After suffering for a long time with Lipoatrophy and watching others with lipoatrophy sitting pain drop out of social opportunities, I decided to stop smuggling cushions into sitting venues like lectures and volunteer meetings and restaurants and invent something we could all wear to prevent sitting pain from a thin buttocks. It took over 5 years of R&D and development, a clinical trial with 40 HIV patients, and lots of favors from people in the garment industry but I eventually went to market with SitRelief Shorts. I sell them online and have helped almost two thousand people with sitting pain lead a more normal life. People absolutely love the Shorts!
Related articles
- Drummond Marais: Living an Exceptional Life with HIV (pantiesupskirtdown.com)
- Janet Johnson: Living an Exceptional Life with HIV (pantiesupskirtdown.com)
I have several pair if these awesome shorts. I recommend them to everyone. AJ
Sweet! Thanks for the reply
Most people who have HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS, have no sytpmoms for several years. Some people get flu sytpmoms within a few months after infection, but there is no way to tell the difference between flu sytpmoms caused by HIV and flu sytpmoms caused by flu.Testing can detect antibodies to HIV within 3 to 6 months after someone gets infected. (More than 98% of people who have HIV would test positive within 3 months. Very rarely, it may take up to 6 months for someone to test positive.)IMPORTANT: Within a day or 2 after someone is infected, they can pass the virus on to other people. This is long before sytpmoms would appear, and before they would test positive. Also, HIV is not transmitted 100% of the time. Someone may be exposed to HIV several times and not get infected. However, it is also possible for someone to get infected by just ONE exposure.
After working with HIV/AIDS folks for 16 years and personally surviving prostate cancer and stage 4 colon cancer, I can understand how some of the basic comforts, like sitting at a meeting, concert, or social event for a long period of time can become a luxury. I personally use SitRelief Shorts. Tomorrow I’m attending an eighth grade graduation for a granddaughter, and I can assure you that the first thing I’m putting on to prepare for the long ceremony on hard folding chairs will be my Sit Relief Shorts. Quality of life has to be your number one priority in order to survive life’s challenges these days.
Working in the field of HIV/AIDS for many years has provided me with an opportunity to meet so many wonderful people. Terry Delonas is one of the inspirational people that I have the privelege of knowing and learning from. The journey begins with and HIV and/or AIDS diagnosis, how you choose to live your life and thrive is a personal choice. Terry is living testament to consciously making the decision to turn lemons into lemonade. Sit Relief Shorts are not only innovative but alter the quality of life for so many who benefit from this amazing invention.Try them, they will make life alot more pleasant.
It really does “take a village” to survive cancer and still have a good quality of life. It is other people who can pull us along through our tough spots, so a driving part of the StiRelief mission is to make sure people can be comfortable in those venues where we most enjoy other people.
We have had people say they have gone out to dinner or to the theater for the first time in a few years just because of the comfort of SitRelief Shorts. To enjoy the same activities others enjoy is a big part of living a good life. “Sitting Is Believing!”