David: Acting on HIV/AIDS

David: Acting on HIV/AIDS

“I live.” That is the answer David Soomarie has for anyone who asks him how he has been coping with HIV/AIDS every day, for the past 16 years.

“There’s nothing else I see myself doing,” he says. “I take my meds, check my health regularly, and live life as normally as the next person.”

Now, at first glance, one would not assume a mild-mannered individual like Soomarie would be responsible for quite a major stake in Trinidad and Tobago’s fight against HIV/AIDS. Recently appointed as the Coordinator of local NGO Community Action Resource (CARe), he invests nearly all his time and energy into making CARe an influential entity a “well-oiled machine”, as he puts it.

His path with HIV/AIDS began when he found out he had the disease through a medical exam for an insurance policy.

“I was told bluntly, ‘You have AIDS. Go see your doctor’,” he recalls. “My world was shattered. I had no clue what HIV was, or if there was any way to treat it, both physiologically and psychologically.”

 

‘I was told bluntly, “You have AIDS. Go see your doctor”‘

 

In the aftermath, he buried the thought. Whenever he fell ill, he would merely treat the symptoms and move on normally, as if nothing was wrong.

A few years later, while working on a campaign with the YMCA, the notion of having HIV crossed his path again. Through the YMCA, he was introduced to the few NGOs involved in HIV/AIDS at the time, and he took a special interest in CARe. Seeing the members of CARe, all HIV-positive people, living normally, compelled him to finally admit he was HIV-positive himself.

“I was genuinely surprised; to me HIV was a death sentence.”

Then reality stepped in further.

“One day, I was driving home from CARe’s office, and the next thing I knew, I was on a hospital bed being told I had a seizure,” explains the 36-year-old. “My CD4 count, or quantity of immunity was 45, meaning I was near death.”

Two months subsequent to this, Soomarie was at home, unable to work, with his father taking care of him. He had lost a great amount of weight, was coughing all the time, and was overcome with fatigue.

“My day basically involved being woken up every two hours to take a cocktail of drugs, and having my father do everything for me, because I couldn’t do anything for myself,” he recalls. “During that time, I was angry – angry with myself, with the world, with the disease. I was angry with the fact I contracted HIV and I thought it was my fault, since I had no idea who and where I got it from. Depression kicked in when I began questioning why I ended up living with this disease, and was essentially in a state I considered alive, but not living anymore.”

 

‘I thought it was my fault, since I had no idea who and where I got it from’

 

Eventually, Soomarie recovered, and joined the ranks of CARe, as a member. He resumed his career in advertising, and was fairly open about his status. Management at his firm was also sensitive to the disease – given that the National AIDS Coordinating Committee was one of their major clients. Support came in the form of friends, who ensured he made it to medical appointments, and his father, especially, who became more instrumental in his life.

Now, 16 years later, Soomarie’s CD4 count is 594 and the virus is undetectable in his body, thanks to anti-retroviral treatment (a fully healthy person’s CD4 count is in the range of 1500 to 1700, but anything over 250 is considered healthy). He has also left the world of advertising, and is working full-time at CARe.

“From then to now, Trinidad has made many strides in terms of battling the epidemic,” Soomarie states. “Anti-retroviral treatment is free; something not many countries can boast about. The Ministry of Labour has its National Policy on HIV/AIDS in the Workplace. But we still have a lot of work to do. The distribution of ARV treatment should be decentralised; they should be accessible at more health facilities, not only at Port of Spain, San Fernando, Mount Hope and Scarborough. And we still don’t know how effective the labour policy will be, in terms of enforcing it not only in the public sector but the private sector as well. The authorities also have a huge responsibility to ensure their healthcare institutions have modern equipment and the best service possible – efficient pre- and post-counselling services and most of all, confidentiality.”

 

‘There are those of us still holding onto the misconception that HIV is a gay disease, that those infected look a certain way, or it only happens to certain people’

 

His opinion on the work to be done, however, is not restricted to the Government. He believes people are more accepting, but there are rumours and misconceptions that are widely rampant. On one occasion, while speaking to students in Valencia, he was questioned as to whether or not mosquitoes are capable of spreading HIV, because there was a mosquito problem in the area. He then reminded them the “H” in HIV meant “human”; therefore, mosquitoes cannot and will not contract or be involved in the spread of the disease.

“There are those of us still holding onto the misconception that HIV is a gay disease, that those infected look a certain way, or it only happens to certain people,” he says. “The onus is not on the Government alone to get the word out. The information is out there for us to access, and in some cases we are receiving it, but in order to change our environment, we must take the first step by changing our attitude and mindset towards the situation.”

And that is where he sees his role in CARe coming in. The organisation, established in 1988, began as a support group comprising young, HIV-positive people. Today, Soomarie describes the membership as more diverse – people from all walks of life, of all races, from early 20s to about late 50s, some of whom are HIV-negative. The organisation itself has also grown from it support group days, becoming an entity, having made influential contributions to initiatives such as the National Policy on HIV/AIDS in the Workplace, and the National AIDS Strategic Response, as well as having representation on state boards such as the National AIDS Coordinating Committee.

“As the new coordinator, I think my greatest challenge is helping members, both current and prospective, realise they are stakeholders in CARe, which means by virtue they are stakeholders in every board or group in which CARe has influence,” he adds. “The time for being complacent and irresponsible is over. We, as in all members of society, have to become more responsive and responsible partners in the fight against the disease, so the end of stigma and discrimination begins with us, on a personal level.”

Soomarie’s major plan, at the helm of CARe, is to have a greater presence in the national arena, where they hope to reach the masses.

“We’re not out to reinvent the wheel, just rolling it down a different path,” he explains. “We want to be shining examples in the wider community, showing the people that having HIV or AIDS doesn’t mean death, educating those who don’t have all the facts, fighting the stigma and misconceptions, and giving support to those who need it. Then and only then will we be able to move forward, and, hopefully, end the hold the disease has on Trinidad and Tobago.”

Anyone interested in assisting David and CARe can call 623-6310 or e-mail them at exdir@tstt.net.tt David can be reached through his fan page on Facebook, David DK Soomarie.

 

 

The State of HIV/AIDS in Trinidad and Tobago

The following is a summarised version of a report on the state of HIV/AIDS in Trinidad and Tobago, compiled by Professor Courtenay Bartholomew, Professor of Medicine at the University of the West Indies and founder of the Medical Research Centre (MRC).

  • As of 2008, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Trinidad and Tobago stands somewhere between 9,500 and 19,000.
  • Persons living with HIV/AIDS between the ages of 15 to 49 make up at least 9,200 of the people infected, and an average of 7,700 of these are women.
  • There are presumed to be less than 500 children under the age of 14 infected with the disease.
  • At most, 500 to 960 people die from AIDS every year.
  • There is no information on children who are orphaned due to AIDS.
  • On average, The MRC sees 100 patients daily, with 50 new patients coming in every month. These patients range from 13 years to 86 years old, the majority of whom are females between the ages of 26 and 55.
  • As of April 30, 2010, the MRC attended to 5,300 patients – 2,600 male, 2,700 female. In comparison, these figures are slightly higher than those of the Johns Hopkins AIDS Clinic.
  • The MRC has had 785 cases of rape, which were immediately investigated. Only two percent were infected by the rapists. Sixty-three of the rapists used a condom.
  • So far, 902 mothers have been treated.
  • Circa 2008, only one percent of mothers have given birth to HIV-positive babies. Without the treatment the HIV-positive rate would be around 23 percent.
  • In 2003, 37 percent of HIV/AIDS patients coming to the MRC for the first time had the late stage of the disease. At the end of 2009, nearly the same percentage of patients came forward in the same condition – a disturbing trend
  • Twenty-three patients at the MRC who have been infected with HIV for many years still have normal immune systems, although they are not on any treatment. Two of them have been infected for at least ten years and 11 for over five years.

 

 

Author bio: Joshua Ramirez Wharwood is a Communications major at the University of the West Indies. Whenever he’s not feeding his addiction to Skittles and Coca Cola, he immerses himself in all things digital.

Photography by Mark Lyndersay.

 

About Joshua Ramirez Wharwood
Joshua Ramirez Wharwood is a Communications major at the University of the West Indies. Whenever he's not feeding his addiction to Skittles and Coca Cola, he immerses himself in all things digital. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/joachim365.

7 Comments
  • Clara
    Posted at 05:51h, 21 June Reply

    I love you both, keep doing what you’re doing! I’ll see you soon. 😉

  • SanMan bandi
    Posted at 03:10h, 22 June Reply

    thanks for this OUTLISH.. i remember when David was an impromtu guest on the No Behaviour Show and i am so appreciative that more of his story is now OUT there…

    wishing him and you all the best…

  • girlthriving
    Posted at 03:14h, 22 June Reply

    Hey San. He’s certainly inspiring. I also thought it was important to talk about the topic, since I found as if it has sort of died down in terms of being at the top of people’s minds. Keep giving us ideas too about people you think may be interesting to feature.

  • Michie
    Posted at 09:15h, 23 June Reply

    David you came into my life and made me understand tolerance. Bless up brother stay strong

  • nicole
    Posted at 12:13h, 26 February Reply

    There are over 70 million people at positiveloves.come living with HIV. It’s common to feel guilty or ashamed when you are diagnosed with h+. You may feel that your sex life is ruined or that someone you thought you could trust has hurt you. You may feel sad or upset. Keep in mind that you are one of millions of people who have it.

  • Pingback:An HIV/AIDS Data Story: On February 1983, which country reported the first case of AIDS in the Caribbean region? | Renee's Blog
    Posted at 21:44h, 15 February Reply

    […] making progress in through media coverage by sharing the stories of those living with HIV/AIDS: David Soomarie, Lorna Hamilton-Henry, Jason Browne, Jonniebelle Welch, Annmarie Douglas, just to name a […]

  • Pingback:An HIV/AIDS Data Story: On February 1983, which country reported the first case of AIDS in the Caribbean region? | HIV/AIDS in Global Context (PH770 - CUNY SPH)
    Posted at 17:45h, 16 February Reply

    […] making progress in through media coverage by sharing the stories of those living with HIV/AIDS: David Soomarie, Lorna Hamilton-Henry, Jason Browne, Jonniebelle Welch, Annmarie Douglas, just to name a […]

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