Larry meets HIV: Part II

Larry Bryant: activist

As the director of National Organizing for Housing Works, Larry Bryant has several duties. He organizes, supports and develops advocacy networks of people living with HIV across the country and internationally. In short, he causes a commotion. But his duties don’t end there. Outside of Housing Works, Larry also works for the Campaign to End AIDS and is the co-chair of DC Fights Back.  He is a positive, articulate, persuasive “troublemaker” who rallies people around the city and abroad to pay attention and act on HIV prevention. Larry is not all about starting fires and ruffling feathers. He has a social life that includes photography, cooking, writing poetry and performing community theater. He dates and is an avid sports lover. He lives a balanced life of work and play and he moves on unashamedly with a potentially fatal disease.

Duty Calls
In 1989, Larry left Norfolk State University. The all-star athlete was stunned into silence during his freshman year from his diagnosis and decided to enlist in the Marines. Larry’s father had a career in the Air Force so he conceded to his son’s decision to exit school one year shy of graduation. Larry went through physical tests, the ASVAB exam, and a medical physical and took the oath to become a Marine. His first order after boot camp was to report to Germany. And then the letter came.

"As a part of your medical examination conducted by the Baltimore Military Entrance Processing Station, a blood sample was taken...results of your laboratory tests show that there is a substance called an antibody to the HIV virus present in your blood...this information raises concern about your health....you are not medically qualified for military service. “

I had a little bit of denial. I thought ‘They’re gonna miss it. They’re not gonna know.’ Now I had it in writing. And from the military.”

The next blow was telling his parents who were preparing themselves to send their oldest child into the military. “I said ‘I’m not going into the military ‘cause I’m HIV positive’. I remember falling out on the sofa. I was crying. My mother was crying which was unusual for her.” How does a parent handle such devastating news? Leaving college was reversible. This announcement was not. “I originally felt disappointed when I disclosed my status. I felt I had let them down in particular because my dad was excited that his oldest son was following in his footsteps to the military. My family were not only supportive of me in many cases they saved my life.”

Seeing the doctor
Larry finally summed up the courage to visit his doctor. It was time to face the diagnosis and get a handle on this infection. How many meds would he take? What are the options? How long would it take before symptoms would begin to show? Larry had already been living positive for five years without medical consultation. This visit could present a new slate of fears and frustration. “The doctor said that my viral count was low. My T-cell count was high. Medication isn’t always a necessary option.” Larry was healthy enough to continue living without medication. But soon he would have to earn a living and make a way for himself. How does one start life anew with the threat of death following like a shadow?
 

Next: Larry meets HIV: Part III

To see how it began, read Larry meets HIV: Part I