I know all about the long latency (sometimes) between introduction of the virus into a person and the onset of symptoms, i sweated over that issue for many years after a scary night back then. In the fullness of time, I found out about several other scary encounters I had and never even suspected.
We didn't have internet back then, while I had college friends die of AIDS as early as 1983, I didn't know of any (in real time) till 1986. Year later finding out about the earlier ones was quite a shock.
We will never know for sure, but our 'clique' might have had an AIDS fatality in 1978. Had 'D' died the way he did in 1984 onwards, there wouldn't be much doubt it was AIDS, but how the hell it possibly got him in 1978 really is a cage rattler. There was a teenager who died in St. Louis in 1969 that was confirmed decades later. As for 'D', he died at home, alone, of a vicious case of pneumonia. He hadn't sought medical care, and was found 3 or 4 days after he died. I can't imagine the autopsy went much further than an a chest X-ray, "yep, his lungs are full, stamp pneumonia on the toe tag and let's go home". I felt bad at the time, but never thought about pneumocystis pneumonia till Dave died of it 10 year later. And then there was that "JFC, how long has this been going on and nobody fucking noticed?" moment.
I do recall 2 or 3 others (men) at the gay blood drive that are still around today, there were several Lesbians I knew too there. But there were many people there that day, and were going back over 30 years, I just can't remember in enough detail everything that happened that day.
I think there were blood shortages back then because people thought they could get AIDS just from donating. There were many unknowns, and many stupid ideas floating around on top of that too.
We didn't have internet back then, while I had college friends die of AIDS as early as 1983, I didn't know of any (in real time) till 1986. Year later finding out about the earlier ones was quite a shock.
We will never know for sure, but our 'clique' might have had an AIDS fatality in 1978. Had 'D' died the way he did in 1984 onwards, there wouldn't be much doubt it was AIDS, but how the hell it possibly got him in 1978 really is a cage rattler. There was a teenager who died in St. Louis in 1969 that was confirmed decades later. As for 'D', he died at home, alone, of a vicious case of pneumonia. He hadn't sought medical care, and was found 3 or 4 days after he died. I can't imagine the autopsy went much further than an a chest X-ray, "yep, his lungs are full, stamp pneumonia on the toe tag and let's go home". I felt bad at the time, but never thought about pneumocystis pneumonia till Dave died of it 10 year later. And then there was that "JFC, how long has this been going on and nobody fucking noticed?" moment.
I do recall 2 or 3 others (men) at the gay blood drive that are still around today, there were several Lesbians I knew too there. But there were many people there that day, and were going back over 30 years, I just can't remember in enough detail everything that happened that day.
I think there were blood shortages back then because people thought they could get AIDS just from donating. There were many unknowns, and many stupid ideas floating around on top of that too.
