VIH'Gilance

12/11/2025

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🇨🇦 “Remembering my brother, Kevin Wilde.

Kevin died of AIDS on August 18, 1994, at the age of 27. Sadly, he didn’t tell me he was “full blown” until two years before his death – he lived with that knowledge two years before telling anyone and I can only imagine how afraid he was. I know it was because he feared what people outside of his friend group would say.

We grew up in a super religious household and I know that played a huge part in him keeping it from his family for so long. Sadly he was right about the rejection from those too ignorant to understand that you don’t get AIDS from shaking someone’s hand or sharing a visit.

Many of our so-called family friends dropped us almost immediately including those in the church. We didn’t care. Kevin was our world.

Kevin lived a full life in his 27 years. He was a passionate traveler and was blessed to travel the world up until about a year before his death. His happiest years were in Vancouver surrounded by his many amazing and loyal friends – most of whom worked for Canadian Airlines as I recall.

The morning Kevin died he was in Saint Paul’s hospital in Vancouver. He called me the day before to say he was sick and going into the hospital. I knew it was serious because Kevin hated the hospital.

We spent so much time back and forth in hospitals the two years before his death. He was losing his sight, got salmonella which nearly killed him, and bouts of pneumonia. I flew to Vancouver first thing in the morning and was shocked to see this beautiful man turned into a human skeleton within a few weeks of my last visit with him.

My mom and I and his great aunt and cousins were privileged to be with him the last two hours before he passed at 11:30 in that morning.

As horrible as that day was, the most heartwarming moments happened after Kevin passed. At least 20 plus friends of Kevin’s showed up at noon to visit him not knowing that he had just passed away 30 minutes prior. That friend group literally took over the entire visiting area on the AIDS ward and, while there was a lot of crying, I also remember many laughs as Kevin’s friends shared their stories of Kevin.

Kevin was hilarious, kind, smart, so handsome and genuine and to know him was to love him. He touched so many people in his time on this earth. I miss him every damn day.

Kevin’s name is one of the last names placed on the AIDS Memorial Wall in Stanley Park – a beautiful tribute to so many that lost their lives to this disease.” 📖 by Janine Gervais

12/11/2025

11/11/2025

Les jours passent, n'oubliez pas vendredi 14 novembre on se retrouve au CLT rue des Cités Tourlaville pour une soirée faites de rires et de bonne humeur... On se régale et on chante tout cela dans le cadre de Journée Mondiale de Lutte contre Sida et au profit de l'association VIH'Gilance 😏

10/11/2025

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🇺🇸 “Gerald was more than my brother, he was my best friend. He lost his life to AIDS in 2017. Gerald was only 43.

He spent his life designing anything he could find to design which led him to college to take interior design. Gerald later became a wedding coordinator, his amazing work can be still seen on facebook.

Gerald was such an amazing soul always putting others first, always helping others. I didn't see him much due to living so far away but we spoke at least once a week sometimes more due to his busy schedule. I loved him, he was my only sibling and we told each other everything I thought. Everything except for the fact that he had HIV for years.

On November 9, 2015, we were told Gerald had “full blown” AIDS as he lay in the fetal position in the hospital. I will never understand why he never told us or never got help. I can only imagine due to shame, stereotyping and the stigma of all of it, including being gay, didn't help his plan of seeking treatment.

I preach daily to people to seek help and get tested. I myself got tested after learning of his diagnosis and was negative, however, I didn't know that until I got tested and how could I preach if I wasn't doing it myself?

For 16 months, my brother went from one hospital to another and then to a nursing home where he lost all bowel and bladder control. I’d never heard of AIDS causing lesions on the brain but he had those as well. Gerald got to the point where he wouldn't eat and when he did it all came back up. He knew us one day but not the next.

Most family never came to visit because they thought they could "catch it.” A family member recently had the nerve to say she never came because she was afraid it may be in the air. Really??? People are so uneducated! You really find out who your friends and family are when a close family member has AIDS.

Gerald was a happy person who traveled, loved life and hoped to also be married one day. Sadly, the latter never happened. I miss him more each day and I only hope someone sees this and goes to get tested. Don't be afraid, get help, don't wait ... please!” 📖 by Karen Helmandollar

07/11/2025

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🇫🇷 “Christophe Bourdin was born on April 5, 1964, in Épinal, France, and died on March 27, 1997, in Paris. He was the author of Le Fil, a deeply moving book in which he writes about his experience living with AIDS. It is one of the most powerful books I have ever read—and the only one he ever published. Very little is known about his life; only one photograph of him can be found online. I am preparing an art project to honor his work and memory, and I hope to keep his memory alive. I would love to get in touch with anyone who may have known Christophe personally (email - thanospapadogiannis@gmail.com).

Christophe Bourdin est né le 5 avril 1964 à Épinal, en France, et il est mort le 27 mars 1997 à Paris. Il est l’auteur de Le Fil, un livre profondément émouvant dans lequel il écrit sur sa propre expérience de la maladie, le sida. C’est l’un des livres les plus puissants que j’aie jamais lus — et le seul qu’il ait publié. On sait très peu de choses sur sa vie ; il n’existe en ligne qu’une seule photographie de lui. Je prépare actuellement un projet artistique pour rendre hommage à son œuvre et à sa mémoire, et j’espère ainsi faire vivre son souvenir. J’aimerais beaucoup entrer en contact avec toute personne qui aurait connu Christophe personnellement (email - thanospapadogiannis@gmail.com).” 📖 par Thanos Papadogiannis

05/11/2025

« VIH et allaitement : un choix éclairé… si possible ! »

Un intitulé évocateur pour une journée de débats et d'échanges sur l'allaitement des personnes vivant avec le VIH. Organisé par le collectif TRT5-CHV, trois tables rondes et trois ateliers se sont enchaînés en conviant chercheurs, professionnels de la santé, associations et personnes concernées

🎧🎤 https://www.comitedesfamilles.net/podcasts/vih-et-allaitement-un-choix-eclaire-si-possible

04/11/2025

C'est terrible d'en être encore là aujourd'hui 😢😡

02/11/2025

N'oubliez pas, avec VIH'Gilance le 14 novembre 2025, on chante 😏

02/11/2025

Cette fois, c'est un témoignage de 41 années de "Vivre avec", un beau message 😊

🇺🇸 “41 Isn’t Just a Birthday, It’s a Miracle.

Most people look at a birthday as just another trip around the sun. Cake. Candles. Another number.

But for me, 41 isn’t just a birthday. It’s a miracle.

When I was three months old, a blood transfusion changed everything. It wasn’t supposed to. It was supposed to save my life. Instead, it gave me HIV before I even had a chance to live.

For sixteen years, I lived undiagnosed. Sixteen years of not knowing why I was sick, why I was tired, why I never seemed to bounce back like everyone else.

Then came the word that changed everything: AIDS. Doctors didn’t think I’d see 18.

But here I am, 41 years later. Still breathing. Still fighting. Still here.

And I didn’t get here on my own. I made it here because of the people who refused to let me go. My family, my friends, and every single person who stood beside me through the hardest chapters of my life.

They say it takes medicine to survive HIV.

They’re half right. Medicine keeps your body alive. But love keeps your soul from giving up.

There were years I wanted to stop. Times I was angry at God, angry at the system, angry at my own body for betraying me. But every time I fell, someone reached out and pulled me back up. That’s the real reason I’m here to celebrate 41.

Every scar, every pacemaker, every hospital stay, every sleepless night built a kind of strength you can’t teach. You can only earn it.

So no, 41 isn’t just another birthday. It’s a middle finger to every statistic that said I wouldn’t make it. It’s proof that miracles don’t always come from heaven. Sometimes they come from human hearts that refuse to give up.

To my family and friends, thank you for being my reason to fight.

To anyone out there struggling, whether it’s with HIV, your health, or just life, don’t ever count yourself out. If I can survive this long, you can too.

Here’s to year 41. Here’s to life. Here’s to miracles.“ 📖 by Derek Canas

01/11/2025

Pour information, dernières données 2024.

VIH et IST bactériennes en France. Bilan 2024.

31/10/2025

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🇺🇸 “This photo is of myself and my Uncle Chris (1953 - 1992). He died not too long after this was taken.

It’s very unfair that I didn’t get to know him because my dad has told me he was a kind, funny, intelligent person. I wish I could talk to him now as an adult.

I now work for an organization that serves those living with HIV. I hope I can honor the memory of my uncle through the work that we do.

Thank you The AIDS Memorial for sharing so many stories of beloved friends and family. What is remembered truly does live on.” 📖 by Julia Nicely Borland