Today his appearance could lead anyone to believe that the disease was not as menacing as it may sound, but Johnson is not the only person who lies to rest the misconceptions of people who have AIDS. Bob Bowers proves you don’t have to be famous to survive.

Bowers has survived HIV and AIDS for 25 years and he’s still living strong. In 1983 he contracted the virus from the sharing of needles; one time was all it took. He’s a passionate activist and HIV/AIDS educator and is one of the first 14,000 cases of AIDS diagnosed in the U.S. He strives to spread the message of prevention through education. In educating he acknowledges and truthfully answers all questions regarding his experiences with the disease, even aspects of his personal life. He is very real and straightforward, which is why his audiences are able to relate and thoroughly absorb his messages. He stresses the necessity of universal precautions, meaning safety in all things. Bowers’ passion and determination involving HIV/AIDS isn’t limited to educating. He strives to awaken a sleeping public that has seemingly forgotten that there is still no cure for the millions of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Recent surveys and studies across the nation conducted by such media as the New York Times and UNICEF have shown that the majority of Americans are uneducated regarding HIV and AIDS. Public understanding of HIV and AIDS is vital to finding a cure. The wrath of the disease does not encompass only gay men, prostitutes and drug-users nor does it result in an immediate death sentence.

In 1986 Catherine Cory experienced complications during the birth of her first and only child and needed a blood transfusion; two years later as she attempted to donate blood she was told she was HIV positive. The blood she received during her transfusion two years earlier was tainted and to make matters worse, she had breast-fed her child and he soon tested HIV positive as well. Catherine’s husband, Richard Cory, has admitted how uneducated he was about the disease. “I was almost afraid to touch Alex and Cathie for awhile.'' He said.

Catherine lived for many years symptom-free but became ill in 1999 from a liver problem brought about as a side effect from an anti-AIDS medication she was taking. Catherine died in 2000; her cause of death was complication from a Hepatitis-C infection. Living over a decade of life with HIV and the health complications Catherine faced, her husband remembers that she kept her sense of humor until the very end. He then recalls coming home from the hospital after her death and having to tell their 14-year-old son, Alex. It was not Alex who needed comforting, but his father, who says it was Alex that supported him through such a difficult time.

Alex Cory, the son of Catherine and Richard Cory is now 22 years old. His childhood was similar to many children, filled with love from his parents. He attended grade school played the saxophone, joined the boy scouts, and had braces. He experienced things most kids experience during their childhood. Alex went on to graduate high school and college and now lives and works as any other human being. He also expresses that his college experience was one of his favorites. Throughout his growing years Alex has kept a closely knit group of friends all accepting and understanding to the fact that he has AIDS. He isn’t an active educator or public speaker like Bowers, although his father, who does not carry the disease, is active with the Red Cross and with Global Ministries through The United Methodist Church. Cory considers himself a normal guy. “I go to work Monday through Friday and play video games in my free time,” he says. Cory deals with his unique situation by being optimistic.

“I know that seems kinda hard if you’re depressed about having AIDS/HIV, but enjoying your life today is much better than being depressed about it. My mom always said, ‘When you wake up in the morning you make a decision: Will today be a good day or a bad day?’ Just starting the day with that in mind has helped me to be optimistic. So go out there and do  something with your life,” says Alex.

[In fact] Alex Cory has done just that. He is currently a successful computer programmer for Dominion Enterprises in Norfolk Virginia, one of the nation’s largest providers of highly targeted classified advertising. Alex has never known life without the virus. One of his most memorable moments of facing people uneducated about HIV/AIDS was during his early childhood. “I blurted out at the bus stop at a very young age that I had AIDS,” said Alex. “I guess I was naive and thought it was a good thing.” He also remembers there were those that would run away in fear (literally). There were times when children found out that Alex had AIDS and they would run when they saw him coming near.

Bowers believes that children aren’t told what they should know about HIV and AIDS because there are many other issues people face when explaining the disease. Issues like gay men, prostitutes and drug-users. Bowers has spoken to people both young and old who do not understand HIV/AIDS. He believes that the reason many children remain uneducated is because the people who should be telling them about the diseases are afraid or uneducated themselves.

“We can’t tell people drug addiction is a bad thing, just don’t do it with no explanation,” says Bowers. HIV/AIDS has to be explained and children want questions answered. Questions like how soon will a person who has AIDS/HIV die? People often conceive that death soon follows a HIV diagnosis, with over 45 years of living with HIV/AIDS between the two Bowers and Alex Cory have put that myth to rest.

This is not to say that a person can contract HIV and continue living a significant life span without assistance. There has been no such reported case. HIV/AIDS patients receive life-saving medications and treatments to withstand the HIV and AIDS.

Alex Cory currently takes 12 pills a day. He recalls a time he once was taking 40 pills twice a day.
The HIV and AIDS medications that have helped preserve the lives of people like Bowers and Cory living with the disease are not immediately available to all. This is a major concern of Bowers, last year The New York Times reported that 350 people in South Carolina were on a waiting list for HIV/AIDS life-saving drugs. This year that list has risen to 500. North Carolina reportedly once had a waiting list of more than 800. There is no waiting list in California, but because we have no waiting list there is what some might call a penalty for a good standing. According to President Bush’s budget new federal resources for HIV/AIDS will not be available to states without a waiting list, states like California.

An estimated cost for HIV/AIDS therapy and treatment can range from $10,000 to $14,000 plus per year per person for outpatient medication, meaning the amount doesn’t include medicine received during hospital stays. Government assisted insurance such as Medicaid is available for people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Bowers is a recipient of Medicaid, and says that he would not be able to afford the medication or treatment without their help. Currently Bowers’ daily medication consists of 14 pills his peak was 65 pills daily in the late ‘90s. The total cost for his current medication is roughly $3,000 per month he doesn’t pay that amount only a co-payment or deductible which is a fraction of the total cost.

Treatment has shown great strides for HIV/AIDS patients, but the concerns throughout the HIV/AIDS community are whether these medications are available to the people who need them.  People with HIV/AIDS who have tried existing medications which fail to work for them will be offered a new drug called Fuzeon awaiting FDA approval and has a price tag of $20,000 per year. Fuzeon is only one medication, the combination of all medication for an average AIDS/HIV patient plus adding Fuezon to a patients list would more than double that total. Insurance companies usually pay for most HIV/AIDS treatments but uninsured people face a difficult road. Data from the United Nations program on AIDS reported, globally, there were 33.2 million people living with the disease in 2007 and a total of 2.1 million AIDS-related deaths in that same year.

Arguably the biggest concern among the HIV/AIDS community is the quest for a cure. Although Bowers appreciates the great strides the medical community has made with HIV/AIDS medication, he questions why there hasn’t been more progress towards a cure. Since the first case of AIDS in the U.S. was reported in 1981 the epidemic has grown rapidly. According to the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a revised 2007 count of the total number of HIV/AIDS cases in the U.S. totals approximately one million.

Bowers believes that a cure lays in the social aspects of human beings meaning that we need to understand, tolerate and learn more about one another. We should strive to be accepting to the differences of others. Knowledge is the key, people can learn about something they are afraid of only to find out it was not frightening to begin. He believes that if we as a people make finding a cure a priority it can happen.

“I’m just someone sharing the human experience; AIDS encompasses so much more then just a virus,” said Bowers.

~Story by Bianca DeCastro from San Jose State University