A day of awareness for AIDS

A few weeks ago, Kim de St. Paer, who runs the HIV testing and counseling program at the Laguna Beach Community Clinic, treated an older gentleman who complained of weakness in his arms, only after it began to hinder his greatest passion — painting.

A heterosexual man who had practiced celibacy for a number of years, he didn’t think HIV was something he had to worry about, so he told St. Paer that he’d never bothered to be tested.

“It wasn’t a serious issue in my time,” she recalls the man saying.

She ran some tests at the clinic; he had full-blown AIDS.

“Most people think they aren’t a candidate for this disease, so they don’t get tested,” St. Paer said. “Contrary to popular belief, HIV/AIDS isn’t a problem that exists only in the gay community.

“Ninety-one percent of those infected are heterosexual, and one-third of new cases are women — and most of these women contract it from straight men.”

Many cases, she said, involve people who wrongly believe that a monogamous relationship exempts them from dangers of the disease.

“People often think they’re safe when they are intimate with only one partner,” she said. “Sadly, we don’t always know what our partner is up to or where they have been.”

The incubation period before the antibodies appear, she said, can last up to six months and often no symptoms occur. Those that do are flu-like, so people usually discount them as anything serious.

“Therefore, a negative HIV result doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in the clear. Maybe your partner was tested, but the [disease] hadn’t shown up yet, she said.

She stresses the importance of getting tested annually not only to protect others from contracting it but also to receive medical treatment as early as possible.

“If you find out early and get treatment, you can still live a long, normal life,” she said. “The longer you wait, the more damage is done to your immune system, and the more risk you face of your body resisting the medication.”

Until recently, Laguna Beach was the No. 1 city per capita in the country for HIV (it is now Washington D.C., with a reported rate of one-in-20 affected persons — the same as West Africa), she said.

She’s treated 23 cases at the clinic — as young as age 17.

In honor of World AIDS Day, a day dedicated universally to raising awareness and honoring those who have died from the disease, the HIV Advisory Committee of Laguna Beach will offer free, anonymous testing and spread awareness from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday at Main Beach.

HIV specialists from the Community Clinic, including Dr. Korey Jorgensen — the No. 1 specialist in the U.S. — and Dr. Chau Ngo will administer tests to the community and provide results in just 20 minutes.

Other members of the Advisory Committee — the AIDS Services Foundation, Laguna Beach Shanti, ACTION and Laguna Beach High School — will also provide up-to-date statistics and spread awareness through pamphlets and posters created by students at the high school.

“It’s so nice to that the high school kids are active in this campaign and care about getting the message out,” St. Paer said. “I’m really excited about the participation in this year’s event and think it will be a really fun, beautiful evening.”

A red ribbon signing and candlelight vigil will be from 5 to 5:30 p.m. at the beach, to honor those who have passed away from HIV/AIDS and to celebrate those who are living with the disease.

“These people are heroes now,” St. Paer said. “By allowing themselves to be used for medical research, some of these people have enabled breakthroughs for others with this disease.”

HIV tests at the clinic normally cost $40, but those who attend World AIDS Day will receive an attendance card, which will grant secondary tests at the clinic free of charge. Due to aid like the Ryan White Grant, the clinic is able to provide free treatment for those infected.