European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 10, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Activists by Paul Geitner associated press Michael Callen of people with aids health group stocks refrigerator with drug to treat disease. The Federal government s response to aids and his efforts to Spur it to faster action. He has logged 180,000 frequent flier Miles in two years attending aids conferences and spreading the unspoken message Hal there a a Long term survivors ii never occurred to me that there weren t or there would t be he said. A san Francisco study found that 9 5 percent of people with aids survived three or More years but As Callen Points out. Those figures which Are admittedly depressing essentially reflect untreated aids in the 90 5 percent who died he says his Success in beating the Odds can be credited in Largo part to Good doctoring from a physician willing to try unconventional treatments while steering him away from quack remedies Callen spends some time in the Hospital about every six months and gets seriously depressed about once a year he said but he and his partner have adjusted to the ups and Downs. Neither is the Type As Dworkin put it to make out a live year career plan or to take a vacation the third week in August every aids is All about uncertainty Dworkin said every Day is different. But that s what makes life interesting " Tony could be described As the quintessential Busy new yorker. He holds two jobs works out at the gym sees a therapist visits friends and cares for a dog and two cats he also has aids just because i have it does t mean that s what i am said the 36-year-old registered nurse who asked that his last name be omitted to protect his privacy he Learned he had aids in May 1987 after being hospitalized with pneuma Cystis pneumonia but aside from a few minor problems he has been line since then. My life actually is probably the most Active it s Ever been he said in an interview in his Manhattan apartment struggling to keep his rambunctious Shepherd Mutt Harriet under control Michael Callen fell in love the summer of 1982. In the same week he got word he had was a very strange thing to have somebody willing to love me said Callen a 34-year-old Singer and one time Legal Secretary. It sort of made me realize. That life was t Over til it was neither could guess then that Callen would be transformed from a naive Small town boy from the Midwest into a world travelled author lecturer and aids activist. Callen said he led the fast Lane lifestyle after moving to new York from Ohio in 1978. When he Ell ill in 1981, he suspected the worst. I started dealing with aids before i got my actual diagnosis because i was so sick he said after he left the Hospital Callen advertised for Gay and lesbian musicians to form a band a drummer who responded. Richard Dworkin became Callen s Lover their relationship has endured the Rigours of Callen s aids work and the stresses of dealing with his illness. A tall thin uni posing figure. Callen became one of the first and loudest advocates Lor people with aids. Despite exhaustion from Days of writing to meet a deadline or his upcoming Book. Surviving aids Callen showed his anger when he spoke of i consider myself Lucky but i put a lot of work into Tony quit a drug habit and entered therapy shortly after moving to new York in 1984. He lakes the drug at to treat his disease Tony expressed anger at people even doctors who believe death must always closely follow aids but he quickly acknowledged that things could change suddenly before he moved to a More expensive apartment he made sure he would be Able to pay the rent even it he were hospitalized lot a Long period. Anything that i do i have to do it with the awareness that i still have to take care of the aids situation. The thing that i m afraid about it is not the actual dying but the process of he said i be had a lot of friends of mine who have gone through thai and it s been pretty terrible to watch " for 20 year Russ Termini took drugs. " moving from place to place Job to Job in and out of prison today he works As a Counselor serves on government panels and has an apartment on new York s Long Island and a new wife. He also has aids Termini. 37. Became seriously ill in 1985 but the problem was t diagnosed for a year infection spread to his brain paralysing his legs and clouding his vision doctors said he d never leave the Hospital but his health rebounded with the help of drugs including at. In the years since then. Termini has also turned his life around starting with kicking his heroin and cocaine habit. I did t want to give he said i really knew More than i Over fell in my life that i really wanted to change my life " Termini says his Counselor and support group set him on the right track once he was drug free he began helping others the Volunteer speaking that i was doing really turned into a career the Only career hat i Ever he said he grew closer to his family and last year began his first stable relationship our first Date was a big aids he said when he and Gloria decided to marry. Termini said he laced a lot of opposition some people have been How dare you7 if you love this person Why Are you doing this to them " he Caid As far As i m concerned my wife is less at risk than most people i know the rules she knows the so far Gloria 33. Has tested negative for the aids virus the Terminis say they live life one Day at a time. You can get married and plan for the future All you Gloria Termini said. Hall the marriages Don t work anyway if i married Russ. I knew that the time we were going to spend together would be great " Termini sometimes walks with a Cane he suffers torn bronchitis and bouts of abdominal pain a Marathon runner before his illness he still dreams of running he does not expect to run again that s also something that i be Learned he said i Don t ask things of myself that Are impossible " he and his Wile have made plans Lor the worst possibilities dying is something that s in store for everyone he said. We be had the Grace to be informed so we can really begin to pay attention to life itself in that sense alone it s been a stars and stripes Page 15
