“Living with AIDS” On Thursday, September 20, 2001, I had the pleasure of hearing one of the most gifted speakers I have ever heard tell her story. Ms. Rae Lewis-Thornton came to Birthright Auditorium and brought the house down. Ms. Thornton was diagnosed with HIV at the age of twenty-three, at a time when HIV/AIDS was just being recognized in the United States. She lived with the disease for seven years without fully acknowledging it. Then, after finding out from her healthcare provider that her T cell count had dropped below 200 (meaning her HIV had turned into full-blown AIDS), Rae went into a period that she called, “the beginning of good healthcare and proper management of my HIV”. In 1996, she began taking ‘protease inhibitors’, and after much trial and error, came up with the combination that worked for her. In 1998, she hit another rough spot. She had a T cell count of 8, a viral load of 397,000, and was wearing a size 2. But, she still managed to come out triumphant, and is now living her life to the fullest. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Ms. Thornton speak. She came at us with a no nonsense attitude, and with a realness that most speakers lack. She spoke in our language, and didn’t use all of the politically correct language, and superior tone of voice like most speakers I’ve heard. She is hands down the best speaker I, and probably many others, have ever heard....
