150 |^5280 |^ AUGUST^2019
THE VALUE OF VIGILANCE
try to increase testing for chlamydia spe-
cifically among women. (Chlamydia can be
asymptomatic and can cause serious repro-
ductive health issues if untreated.) In early
June, hoping to make progress toward the
Fast-Track Cities goals, Rowan, co-chair
of the local task force, submitted a plan to
the city requesting funds for a full-time
coordinator and micro grants to boost test-
ing in the community and to help promote
engagement in care, treatment, and PrEP
usage. Funding has been another hallmark
of San Francisco’s success. In 2013, that city
launched its Getting to Zero consortium
with $1.3 million in dedicated city funding.
(The campaign still exists, and San Fran-
cisco has contributed several million dollars
more to the group in subsequent years.)
Rowan says her funding request was denied
in late June, which means the task force
cannot immediately hire a full-time coordi-
nator. The doctor explains the organization
will simply explore other avenues to find
the dollars that are critical to continuing a
three-plus-decade fight against a disease
that Coloradans can’t afford to forget.EARLIER THIS YEAR, during an appointment
with Greenberg, Jack received good news.
He learned that his regimen of one pill,
once a day had suppressed the virus to the
point that it was undetectable in his body,
meaning it was not only at bay in his system
but that he also could no longer transfer it
to anyone else. It was a thrilling moment.
“I’ve done a 180 from where I was then to
where I am now,” Jack says.
Other positives have worked their ways
into Jack’s life since his diagnosis, too: He
met someone. Having a romantic part-
ner was something he never thought he’d
get back when he was first diagnosed. “I
couldn’t see myself becoming intimate
with anyone ever again,” he says. And,
after seven years, Jack finally felt comfort-
able leaving home. His partner lives in
Colorado Springs, and the pair moved in
together there in June. Now, Jack’s excited
about the future, a profound change from
the way he felt the day he first walked
into Rocky Mountain CARES two years
ago. Jack says Greenberg recently pointed
out all the good change that’s occurred in
Jack’s life in such a short period of time.
Jack says he thought that was a good
message for anyone who’s been newly
diagnosed with HIV to hear. “Life goes
on,” he says. “This isn’t the end. It’s most
definitely not the end.” mChris Outcalt is a Denver-area freelance writer.
He recently won a Livingston Award for excellence in
national reporting. Email him at [email protected].Listen. Learn daily.
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