1995, a second chance AUTHOR Julene Tripp Weaver
It was a marker year a lifeline renewal revelation the cocktail approach HIV could be controlled with three drugs. By December the first Protease Inhibitor approved, but not near perfect— Crixivan, widely prescribed guaranteed kidney stone agony—it became a booster used in small doses to cause less harm. Thanks to the effort it led to better meds and longer lives, it’s rare
Julene Tripp Weaver is a psychotherapist and writer in Seattle. She has a chapbook and two full size poetry books. Her most recent, truth be bold—Serenading Life & Death in the Age of AIDS, was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award, and won the Bisexual Book Award. Her work is widely published in journals and anthologies, including: The Seattle Review of Books, HIV Here & Now, Mad Swirl, Stonewall Legacy Anthology, and Day Without Art Special 30 Year Edition. Artwork by Peri Ren
6 SPRING 2020
people die in the streets. Our history forgotten, yet infections spread: some say one in seven, others say one in five we harbor HIV with no clue. Yet we have PrEP, an acronym for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. If you have not been tested, it is time.