Just Joey

My name is Joey. I am a 46 year old gay man. I was transplanted back in my small home town of Zanesville Ohio in 1999 due to an illness that left me disabled. I lived in Columbus Ohio for almost 20 years prior to that. I do miss the bigger city. I was diagnosed with A.I.D.S. in Jan. of 99. Thanks to the meds that are now avaliable the H.I.V. is under control. In 2002 a local Dr. at the emergency room here in Zanesville being afraid of my H.I.V. status, he didn't examine me and misdiagnosed a case of shingles. He sent me home with pain meds. The shingles being untreated moved to my spine and brain, putting me into a coma. Leaving behind scar tissue on my spine. The scar tissue has caused a disorder called arachnoiditis. This has left me unable to walk from time to time. So I am learning to LIVE again in a wheel chair. But don't count me out. I am a survivor. I will learn to make this as good a life as I had when I was able to get up and go.