AIDS and famous people
There are so many myths and half-truths about HIV and AIDS. Many people don't even know how misinformed they are. Part of the reason there's so much misinformation about these two diseases is because the public does not know much about health and diseases. Another part of the reason, which is far more important, for the misinformation was because of the carelessness of the U.S. government.
If HIV and AIDS were treated as any other disease, experts say that people who had it would not have been treated so badly. More people would have gotten treatment when they suspected they were sick. Also, research to fight the disease would have started sooner.
The conspiracy surrounding these two diseases is not unthinkable. The U.S. government has a history of experimenting on its own people. If you do not know, the conspiracy about HIV and AIDS is that they are man-made diseases developed by the CIA to kill minorities and gay people.
So, let's learn about the lives that these diseases destroyed and put the myths to rest with factual information.
First, let's go over HIV and AIDS
Before we learn about the lives of some of the most famous people who have HIV and AIDS, let's learn a bit more about these two diseases. There are a lot of misconceptions and myths about HIV and AIDS that many people around the world believe. But the only way to fight dangerous myths is with truth and evidence.
What is HIV and what is AIDS?
HIV and AIDS are two different diseases. You can have HIV without having AIDS. If you are treated quickly, you can have HIV all your life and it will never turn into AIDS.
HIV or the Human Immunodeficiency Virus is the virus that actually causes AIDS. The virus damages the immune system. The immune system is the defender of the body, and it fights off bacteria and viruses, along with other foreign bodies and materials. If the immune system is damaged, it cannot fight foreign Invaders that make its way into the body. People with HIV are more likely to get sick than healthy people and they will stay sick for much longer than healthy people who are fighting off the same disease.
When a person contracts HIV, it becomes a permanent part of their body. There is no cure for HIV. But there is treatment that will boost the immune system.
If HIV is a virus, then what is AIDS?
AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is a state of the body where the immune system is far too damaged. A body with a weakened immune system it's not able to fight off even the simplest of colds and flus. So, if a person gets the worst disease like an infection or pneumonia, it will land them in the hospital, and they are likely to die from it.
If a person has HIV, they cannot spread it through their saliva or by touching other people. When the virus was first discovered back in 1981, anyone who was found with the virus was shunned by their entire community. Many people thought that, by being near someone with HIV, they could contract it from them.
The symptoms that HIV causes in a human being's body depend on their own biochemistry. Depending on the person, they may not have any symptoms at all, or they can develop liver disease, lose weight involuntarily, and have constant nausea, vomiting, and other flu-like symptoms.
Now, please know that we here at Eporner are not doctors, nurses, or EMTs. We have no medical knowledge. They are using medical information provided by HIV and AIDS awareness sites online.
The Lives that HIV and AIDS Took
Here are just a few of the many people that were killed by HIV and AIDS.
Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson was the first major celebrity to die from AIDS. His death forced the American public to recognize that there was something going on with these two diseases.
Because of his leading-man good looks, it was inevitable that Rock Hudson would find fame in Hollywood. Hudson moved to L.A. when he was young and worked many odd jobs. A talent scout named Henry Wilson found him. He was the Scout who gave him the name of Rock Hudson. His original name was Roy Harold Scherer Jr.
Throughout his film career, he appeared in over 40 movies from 1948 to 1984. He had several big television cameos and received more than a dozen awards throughout his time as an actor.
Rock Hudson contracted HIV in 1984 and it quickly wore him down. Those in the media who saw Hudson deteriorating speculated on his disease. At first, his publicist tried to cover up his HIV diagnosis by saying he had liver cancer.
However, a few days later, the publicist revealed to the media that Rock Hudson had AIDS.
Rock Hudson died on October 2nd, 1985, when he was only 59 years old. He died in his home in Beverly Crest. He did not want a funeral. His family held a private cremation ceremony. Since he was once one of the most popular actors in the United States, many people knew about him and were shocked when he died.
His death caused a lot of speculation among the media, since he died from AIDS. Although he projected a womanizing playboy persona to the media and American public, many of his close friends and trusted family members knew he was actually gay.
Magic Johnson
Born on August 14th, 1959, Magic Johnson was and still is the greatest point guard of all time. He is a former basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers, and he played with the Lakers for 13 seasons.
He's also been honored with being called one of the 50 greatest NBA players in history. However, because he contracted HIV, his career came to a screeching halt. Many people were devastated that he had to retire so quickly and without a glorious end to his career.
Although many people who contracted AIDS die within five years of their diagnosis, Magic Johnson has been able to live with HIV for 30 years. It is only thanks to many therapies that he's been able to live so long. It is important to remember that many of these therapies he has had access to are not available to other people who do not have the financial means.
Since his HIV diagnosis, Magic Johnson has become an advocate for both safe sex and for HIV and AIDS prevention.
He has moved on to other careers such as an entrepreneur, a motivational speaker, and a broadcaster.
Charlie Sheen
I believe everyone who is reading this article either knows who Charlie Sheen is or has seen his face. He was on a very popular show called Two and a Half Men. It was a very successful show, and it lasted for eight seasons. During the show's run, Charlie Sheen made $1.8 million per episode. He is also known for his roles in excellent movies, like Eight Men Out, Money Never Sleeps, Red Dawn, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Sheen has always been known as a wild man. His wild antics and his drug abuse certainly help feel that image. Unfortunately, it is suspected that it was his substance abuse and drug addiction that caused him to become infected with HIV.
He did tell all of his sexual partners about his HIV diagnosis, but he did not want the public to find out. Those who did find out tried to extort him for money and he kept paying them off.
He estimated he is paid $10 million dollars to blackmailers in order to keep his HIV diagnosis out of the media. But on November 17th, 2015, he finally decided to reveal that he was HIV-positive.
At one point, he tried to stay off of his medications. You should never stop taking medications when you have a disease that attacks your immune system. Sheen thought he could stop because he was receiving successful alternative treatment at a therapy center in Mexico. The center claimed that they had a vaccine for HIV. However, it was quickly back on his meds as the vaccine was not effective at all.
Gia Carangi
Gia was a beautiful model that worked in the modeling industry in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Her popularity and fame grew so much that she is considered to be the world’s first supermodel. Before Gia, there were not many models who were as famous or as powerful in the industry.
As a famous model, Gina was invited to lots of industry meets and greets as well as get togethers posted by the most famous people in all of New York or LA.
When she would attend night clubs and parties, people passed out cocaine as if it was an hors d'oeuvre. Many models who are in the industry say that their managers as well as industry leaders get models addicted to drugs so that they have more power over them. Unfortunately, one of the downsides of the modeling industry is its prolific and extensive addiction to drugs.
Her true downfall began when she became addicted to one of the worst drugs: heroin. Heroin, unlike other drugs, takes a terrible toll on your body in a short amount of time. Also, heroin users often shared needles with each other. When a person inserts a needle into their vein to inject a drug into their system, semi microscopic drops of blood stay on the needle.
If someone had HIV and was also a drug user, they could have shared their needle with her and given her the virus. Because of her terrible last years of life, many people knew she had contracted HIV through drug use.
HIV and AIDS were thought to be diseases that only affected the gay community. So, it was an absolute shock to the public when this beautiful young woman died of aid-related complications. She was one of the most famous women in the world to die from this disease.
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury is known for two important reasons: his work as an unbelievably talented artist that made waves in the music industry and his life as a member of the LGBT community.
Freddie Mercury was born on September 5th, 1946, and the world of music has never been the same since. He earned many achievements as a composer and writer and a performer.
Freddie Mercury died on November 24th, 1991. He was barely 45 years old, and he died in his home in Kensington. The doctors then said that he died of bronchial pneumonia. But many were reluctant to say that it was actually AIDs that kept his body from fighting off pneumonia. If he had been a healthy man, it is highly likely that he would have been able to fight off the pneumonia in the hospital.
After he died, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the UK Music Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. When the BBC released a television series called 100 greatest Britons, he was #58 on the list. The show was called The Top 100 Greatest Britons in all of UK history.
Quick history: why was the AIDS crisis so bad?
The CDC detected the HIV virus in 1981 and they continued to study the virus throughout the 1980s. They first detected the disease in homosexual men who lived in New York City, San Francisco, and other big cities across the U.S. Barely eight months later, almost half of the people that had the HIV virus were dead. The rate of death is alarming, and the government should have enacted safety measurements and protection programs as soon as the CDC noticed these deaths.
The AIDS epidemic was worse than it should have been because of the Reagan Administration's reaction to it. Not only was it not taken seriously, the White House also did not stop myths about AIDS and HIV from spreading across the country.
Many gay people felt like because the AIDS virus was thought to be a gay disease, the Reagan administration did not truly care. The Reagan Administration is known for being anti-LGBT, so it’s outlook on gay people and their rights fueled the conspiracy theory that the CIA created the HIV virus.