Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 5, 1993 TAG: 9312050114
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Although television and movies tend to portray all people with AIDS as wasted and disfigured, he said, it's usually impossible to pick out HIV positive people in a crowd.
Wood does not know how he got the virus. He is gay, he said, but was involved in a long-term monogamous relationship with a partner who is HIV negative. He also had a blood transfusion, which could have been the source of the disease.
"It doesn't matter how I got it," he said. "It's here."
Wood is originally from Florida and lived in Cincinnati until he was diagnosed HIV positive in 1989. In 1991, he came to Roanoke to be with family.
He has worked all of his adult life, and describes himself as "a suit-and-tie kind of guy. I always had a good job," he said.
He worked for the first six months he lived in Roanoke, but was forced to quit when he began to have daily bouts of vomiting and explosive diarrhea. Since then, his only income has been a $690-a-month disability check.
It's more than people who work at low-wage jobs get, he said, but it still doesn't cover the rent, utilities and food.
When a person comes from an affluent background, he said, "you don't know the system. You don't know where to go."
But Wood is a fast learner. He has been to the Salvation Army for help with utilities; and more recently, he came to the Presbyterian Community Center, where he was given money raised through the Good Neighbors Fund, which kept him going another month.
"They're really great people," he said. "I don't know what I would have done without them."
Medicaid covers most of his medical expenses, including a visiting certified nursing assistant. Through a program for AIDS patients aimed at helping them stay out of the hospital for as long as possible, the nursing assistant visits three times a week for light housework and personal care.
But Wood and his nurse, Rena Blankenship, have more than just a professional relationship.
"She's like a sister," Wood said. "She brightens my day."
"Craig's my buddy," Blankenship said. "He's got a real caring attitude toward the rest of the world."
Being HIV positive in Roanoke, Wood has seen his share of prejudice. People are afraid they will catch AIDS from him, he said, when the real danger is that they will transmit something to him.
"There are still a lot of people who don't understand" the disease, he said, even those who should know better. Some medical and rescue personnel have refused to treat him, he said, even though the only proven methods of transmission are through sex and sharing needles.
Wood tries to maintain a positive attitude, although he often feels tired and is in pain. But, he said, "I'm a person living with AIDS, not dying from AIDS. I'm a fighter."
He spends his time at home and visiting family and friends. Because he can easily catch a virus, malls and other public places are off-limits. He also has had to quit his hobby, singing in nightclubs.
"I would give anything to go back to work," he said.
Wood doesn't know how much time he has left, but he wants to spend it educating other people about AIDS and is willing to talk to anyone about the subject.
"I've accepted death. I was afraid for a long time. But there's a new light at the end of the tunnel. I know I have lived a good life."
by CNB