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Our Story
Why we got tested for HIV, and what you can learn from our experience. . .
Meet Diane, Lisa, Megan, Susan and Tricia. We share a common bond, we are all HIV positive and all received the virus from the same man, Philippe Padieu.
Philippe concealed his HIV positive status and outright lied that he had been tested for STD's . He insisted he was "clean." One of us got suspicious and got tested for HIV. The result was positive. This triggered a series of events that led several of us to form an investigation. We were able to locate over 25 of Philippe's current and previous partners. We urged them to get tested and discovered 11 positve women. That number continues to grow.
Knowing your status can save your life!
Some of us were deatlhy ill with a variety of ailments that Doctors could not pinpoint. Because we did not fit the stereotype or "profile" for HIVers, a simple. standard test was not considered.. By the time we were tested it was almost too late...We had advanced AIDS. Life-saving treatment had to begin immediately.
Others were tested while in the early stages of the disease.- we had a chance to get treatment early and preserve our immune system. In order to avoid an untimely death, we ALL need costly medicine and monitoring for the rest of our lives.
Of course we were horrified to learn about our diagnosis, but because we got tested, we will have a fighting chance to survive.
Take our advice and GETested!
Just do it. This site will give you lots of resources to GETinformed and GETested for STDs.. Think about it: Have you EVER had unprotected sex? Need we say more? Run, don't walk to your nearest testing center or to your private doctor. Depending on the test you may have results in as little as 20 minutes.
What about the Rest of the Story?
As for the man who infected us, we shared information from our investigation with the police and worked with them for over 6 months to bring Philippe Padieu to trial. He was charged with Aggravated Assualt with a Deadly Weapon and convicted to 45 years in prison.
For more of the story, see our site sections titled News, and About Us.
GETinformed
To find out more about HIV/AIDS and STDs, here are some sites we recommend:
GETested
GETfriends
To Meet other HIV positive people , be a mentor, or find a date, visit the free personals section at
GETactive
- Write to your legislators and request funding support for AIDS research, mandatory testing, and drug asssistance programs.
- Donate to your local AIDS charities. Help is needed to conduct testing, assist with treatment, counseling, housing, nutrition, and hospice care..
- Volunteer at your local AIDS charities, join a walkathon, help conduct testing, work in food pantries, etc . . . and give HUGS, lots of them!
