Have you ever lost a close friend, lover, or family member to AIDS?

[benburch]

[dsc]

1. For a gay man I have been remarkably lucky in this regard

but I have lost a few.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

2. Not a close friend of mine, but an acquaintance (close friend

of my sister's).

[noamnety]

3. my cousin. (nt)

[ismnotwasm]

4. Yes

A couple of very good friends.

[dannofoot]

5. Family and friends...

...My brother-in-law, one of the most talented chefs (among his many talents)I've ever known, and a close friend of mine and my wife, Gary. Gary often makes guest appearances in my dreams. Several others who were classmates in grade school or college have also passed from AIDS.

They are always in our prayers.

[jesus_of_suburbia]

6. Thankfully not.... but I'm still in my 20's

I don't live in a major city, so none of my friends has HIV or AIDS that I'm aware of.



Edit: I'm well aware that HIV is in smaller towns... I'm just saying that it hasn't been my experience yet.

[LoKnLoD]

7. My brother lost his companion

10 or so years ago to AIDS.

[Bjornsdotter]

8. Yes a close friend

Sharon died in 1985, she left behind a 6 month old son that she was incredibly proud of. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her and I still cry over her death.

[Coyote_Bandit]

9. One of my best friends when I was younger had an

adopted sibling who was a hemophiliac and got the virus from a blood transfusion as a very young child - and died before reaching adulthood. It was a very sad situation.

[progressivebydesign]

10. A cousin, and a few acquaintances. n/t

[LadyAziz]

11. My aunt........

When my family & I were going through the process to can seek refuge in America she was denied because she had the AIDS virus. She died shortly after when we left for the States. I was 9 in 1995 when I last saw her but we did not she had it until after she died.

[Demeter]

12. Not That I'm Aware Of

[nicknameless]

13. Several friends and acquaintances.

AIDS decimated the gay community in Northern CA.

:cry:

[NNN0LHI]

14. Only one colleague from work. He was a real decent person too

Give you the shirt off his back. A damn hard worker too. He was missed by everyone at work. I know that.

Don

[Skittles]

15. a dear, sweet coworker long ago

when he found out he had AIDS he just gave up and quickly succumbed. :(

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

16. No, But I Consider The Loss Of Freddie Mercury To Be A Tragedy.

One of my biggest regrets in life was not having had the opportunity to see him perform live.

One of the most powerful singer/songwriters I've ever come across.

[NNN0LHI]

17. I was lucky enough to see Queen at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago...

...August of 1975. It is something I will never forget.

Don

[Ksec]

25. Queen was the best

I wore out more Queen albums than any other band. (maybe Yes was right up there)Mercury was a rock god.

[LuCifer]

33. I 2nd, 3rd, and 4th that!

Was I the only one out of 90,000 on this board who actually LIKED the Queen & Paul Rodgers tour?! Mind you, I wasn't the biggest PR fan, to say the least.
Oh well, flame away!

[Arkansas Granny]

18. Yes. Several good friends and several acquaintances.

Most of them were in their 20's or 30's and should have had many years ahead of them. This was in the 80's when a diagnosis of AIDS was essentially a death sentence.

[Mojorabbit]

19. Best man at my first wedding.....great guy. eom

[Ksec]

20. No

and knock on wood. Hopefully I never do. Now cancer? Almost all of them.

[blonndee]

21. Other: a dear professor with whom I became friends

had HIV throughout my undergraduate college career. I have since learned that he now has full-blown AIDS and is very pessimistic about his recovery. He, according to friends, is ready to give up. A tragedy. He is a brilliant man and unlike anyone I have ever met before.

[tandot]

22. Yes, my dad in 1992

we weren't very close and I haven't seen him for a few years before he died. I didn't even know he was sick.

[GoneOffShore]

23. We've lost a couple of friends to it

eom

[GrumpyGreg]

24. Godson---1984.

[ROakes1019]

26. My son

my son, in 1996

[tkmorris]

27. Yes, 3 people

My cousin and two friends. RIP Billy, Richard, and Alex.

Damnit. :cry:

[MrSlayer]

28. No. I don't know anyone who has/had it at all.

And I have a pretty wide circle of acquaintances.

[oxymoron]

29. Many

I lost many, many dear friends that are sorely missed.

[benburch]

30. 2/3 of us have been touched by AIDS.

I wonder (were they honest) what the percentage would be on Freeperland?

To those of you young folks who did not live through the plague years of the 80s, please, please, please, never have sex without a condom. Your life depends on it.

[LuCifer]

39. More than they'll ever admit

"Well you is know AIDS am be just them homo disease and..." pass me my crowbar, it's Freeper Beatdown Time!

And FUCK all y'all rightards for your stupid bullshit Abstience Only CRAP. I hope you people who support that shit get something that makes you hurt when you pee!

[Mugu]

31. I live in a small mid-West town and know two young men

that have died and two that are now fighting the virus. This is one of the most diabolical diseases that nature has ever produced.

[Avalux]

32. I've lost many wonderful patients over the years.

Most recently in August of last year; he gave me a stuffed Teddy Bear he picked up while visiting the Smoky Mountains - have it sitting in my bookshelf.

I have many 'gifts' patients have given me and I'm so glad I do because they remind me each person and how they touched my life ....I am better to have known them all.

[Beelzebud]

34. Nope. n/t

[Bridget Burke]

35. Several good friends--back in the 80's....

Back when nobody knew about HIV or AIDS. By the time they found out, it was too late.

I still miss all of them.

[MamaBear]

36. One that was close

A classmate, and a true sweetheart. I suspect there have been others with whom I'd lost contact over the years.

RIP Tony.

[TahitiNut]

37. Every person who has died from AIDS has been my cousin.

:cry:

[RebelOne]

38. No, but a former boss in Miami died from AIDS.

[itzamirakul]

40. I managed a professional dance company in NYC from 1983 - 1989...and

I lost my business partner and several male dancers and colleagues in the field to AIDS. The 1980s was a dreadful time for losing so many artists. My last close friend to die of this horrid experience died in 1992. From that time on, I haven't lost anyone.

[incapsulated]

41. Yes, friends

During the worst of it. My heart aches for those who lost close family, losing friends was hard enough.

[bigtree]

42. I'll reply for my much loved brother-in-law Greg

and his partner Alan.