First of all, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of the support I've received from so many guys across the many Strength In Numbers chapters and our partner poz social groups.  It's been incredibly meaningful to me to have those kinds and encouraging words in what I can honestly describe as one of the worst weeks of my entire life. 

 

My dad is now resting comfortably in a nationally recognized stroke rehabilitation center in downtown Seattle where he will stay for approximately one month receiving 3 hours of physical and occupational (learning how to dress himself, brush teeth, make meals, daily life tasks, etc) every day.  He's already shown improved mobility on his left side and has movement in his leg which is a fantastic indicator of future recovery, hopefully a full and complete recovery.

 

The initial diagnosis is that plaque built up on an artery in his brain and then broke free.  As this shard was carried through the artery, it probably pierced it and caused the blood rupture which then damaged surrounding neurological tissue.  That damage in turn caused the loss of movement on his left side.  The brain is very adapt at rerouting electrical impulses around the traumatized region but that is where the rehab will help him train his brain to use new neuron pathways. 

 

Again, this is just a theory of what may have happened, but it's a very important tale for all of us with HIV or on HIV meds that may increase our cholesterol levels thereby increasing a chance of plaque build up.  A plaque reducing drug like Lipitor may have prevented such a buildup in the artery.  It's rare, but it can happen and we should all see this as a cautionary tale.

 

Thank you all again for the support and love.  I am a very fortunate man to have first survived my struggles with meth addiction and then battling full blown AIDS to now having hundreds of very caring friends around the world and all of you guys in the SIN family of social groups.  We started Strength In Numbers over 6 years ago with the idea of building a single, cohesive and empowering network of local social support groups for HIV+ gay men.  We are completely manned by volunteers who try their best to organize full social events or manage some very busy message boards where guys can share potentially life saving information about living with HIV/AIDS.  I will admit that SIN has a lot of work to do and we haven't always been as successful as I would hope in helping every new SIN chapter grow to its full potential as an active social group with lots of outings and fellowship.  But we are trying and trying hard.

 

My dad's injury has made me that much more aware of how fleeting life can be and that the quality of life is so much more important than the quantity of material stuff you may have in it.  The fancy car, the designer clothes, the gym toned body, the hottest boyfriend, all of those status symbols, they all mean next to nothing if you don't have a spiritual core on which to draw strength, even if that's just a real connection to other human beings in your world.  So in our SIN groups, we have that chance to build those connections and then have that many more friends who we can turn to for real support when times get tough.  If you ever have a life-threatening condition, especially one related to your HIV status, trust me, you will be well served by the network of other HIV+ gay men you are meeting through SIN.

 

OK guys, please keep yourselves well and thank you again from the depths of my soul!

 

XO,

Bryan

Founder, Strength In Numbers