“This weekend I’ll take you kids to see your dad in Fort Frances.”  It had been several months since I’d seen my father, perhaps Christmas or my 11th birthday. My mother seemingly kept us as far away from him as possible. They were separated and weren’t on the best of terms.  “Really?” followed my sister with an excitement in her voice.  “Yah I figured you guys should spend some time with him.”  I stood in the kitchen, doing my week-long dish duty and feeling apathe

Editor Bob Leahy, when he isn't caring for his partner and new puppy, has breakfast every morning here at Jeannine's Backtalk Cafe in Warkworth, Ontario (pop 700). I don’t pretend that this story is at all unique. I tell it because I suspect it may be part of a growing trend - HIVers assuming the role of caregivers where previously they thought of themselves as recipients of care. It's a bit of an adjustment.  Last time I wrote, while dealing with my partner requiring radiation therapy af

Last time I wrote on this topic  I expressed the thought that with many HIVers now living long and productive lives they would increasingly be required to be caregivers rather than recipients of care. My partner is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, after all. and while the prognosis is pretty good, the balance of who needs help in our relationship, physical and emotional, and who doesn’t, has shifted.  It takes a bit of getting used to. It also exposes one to how other disease gro

The sixth workshop in the current series of free open discussion forums for people living with HIV hosted by the AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT) will be held on Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 7:00 pm at the Ramada Plaza Hotel, 300 Jarvis Street in Toronto.  This month, the forum will focus on the risk factors for anal cancer and prevention and on resilience and the challenges of sexually-transmitted opportunistic infections. Topics to be discussed will include:  Epidemiology and

Yo ho, it’s me Danny, back from the abyss yet again. The last couple of months have been a bit of a crazy roller coaster for me.  There have been  hospital stays, mini personal crises and some personal growth that I am especially proud of.  Where to start? Well, in early February I did another 6-day stint in the ever fun hospital. I went in with pancreatitis (as usual) and ended up in isolation with everyone wearing hazmat suits and masks. Now you’re asking hazmat suits, really? Well

Coming to you live, and 5lbs lighter!!! It may even be more than that now...I haven't weighed myself in a couple of days but I keep getting compliments and my food baby seems to have miscarried.  Maybe it's all the wholesome nutrition and juicing, maybe it’s the fear the Conservative Right has instilled in the uterus of American Women everywhere....either way, I'm less puffy in the pooch. We are knee deep in chemo and it is kicking my Husband's ass and mine.  Watching him go through this

The month of June has always been an important month for me. When I was younger and in school. the end of June meant start of the summer holidays. My grandmother's birthday was in June, my mom's first name is June or "Junie" as my grandmother called her and her birthday is in June. I now have a grand-daughter who has a June birthday as well. Three years ago, the month of June gave way to another type of memory for me. On June 15th 2008 my oldest brother passed away from leukemia. He was 56 yea