Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1340266
NO LONGER SILENT Experts talk about the impact of HIV/AIDS in Middle Georgia, and how education can lead to prevention BY JAMI GAUDET | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JESSICA WHITLEY M acon Magazine prides itself on "celebrating the good life and great stories." So, what's HIV/AIDS doing on the pages of this upbeat magazine? Actually, this is a very good story — about momentous progress in the fight against this lethal virus and the comprehensive, cutting-edge treatment and kindhearted care available in Middle Georgia. In 1984, the world was shocked when actor and heartthrob Rock Hudson announced that he had contracted AIDS. Hudson died a year later, opening the floodgates for a string of celebrity admissions and deaths. Queen front man Freddie Mercury, virtuoso Liberace, fashion designer Halston and "Brady Bunch" dad Robert Reed died from AIDS-related illnesses. HIV/AIDS stoked new fear when tennis great Arthur Ashe and teen Ryan White each died after receiving tainted blood during transfusions. White's fight to remain in high school while battling the disease brought star power to the issue when pop legend Elton John championed his cause, performed at his funeral and called his young friend an inspiration for cleaning up his life. NBA star Magic Johnson's HIV disclosure demonstrated that straight men were as susceptible to AIDS as gay men, but when promptly diagnosed and treated, patients can live long, active lives. In recent years, HIV/AIDS has fallen off of our collective radar, in part, because medical advances have transformed it from a death sentence to a chronic condition. However, for all the good news on the diagnostic and treatment front, local professionals lament the fact that Middle Georgia needlessly lags behind in vanquishing the virus. Despite the availability of services and highly effective pharmaceuticals, people decline to get tested and fail to follow the prescribed regimen. More than 30 years after HIV/AIDS was first diagnosed in Macon, the original stigma remains entrenched. For those who contract HIV/AIDS, in Middle Georgia there are no stronger allies or more astute and engaged professionals than Dr. Harold Katner, Dale Wrigley and DeMarcus Beckham. Katner, an internationally renowned researcher and practitioner, has worked as an infectious disease specialist at Mercer Medicine since 1985. Wrigley, director of Macon's COMPASS Cares (Community Outreach Medical Pharmacy Assessment and Supportive Services), partners with Beckham, southern field organizer at Georgia Equality and director of development at Reach to Impact Group Inc. e trio, fiercely determined to prevent, treat and ultimately eradicate the virus, share insights into their work and into the complex world of HIV/AIDS. RIGHT: DALE WRIGLEY IS DIRECTOR OF MACON'S COMPASS CARES PROGRAM. 82 maconmagazine.com | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021