Richard Trifari of Sarasota has not let HIV/AIDS defeat him
MANATEE -- When actor Charlie Sheen recently announced he was HIV positive, it caused a torrent of response.
The buzz showed how powerful the stigma attached to HIV still continues to be, said Richard Trifari, a Sarasota resident, who has battled HIV and AIDS for 34 years.
"You can still sense and even see people back away from you when they meet you if they know you are HIV positive," the 74-year-old Trifari said last week.
HIV is the virus that leads to AIDS, which still has no cure.
"It's a hard three letters to absorb," the 50-year-old Sheen told Matt Lauer on "The Today Show." "It's a turning point in one's life," he said.
But although Sheen brought AIDS back into the spotlight, his story failed to focus on the positive advances that have occurred for patients with AIDS since the mid-1990s, Trifari said.
"AIDS used to be a death sentence," Trifari said on the eve of World AIDS Day 2015, which is Dec. 1. "Now, as long as you take your cocktail of pills every morning, you can live a normal lifespan."
While there is still no cure, antiviral drugs like the ones Trifari takes have turned the disease into something manageable, he said. Trifari expects to take his drugs for the rest of his life, or until a cure is found, he added.
"The AIDS virus changes and adapts to escape death," Trifari said. "They can suppress it now, but they haven't been able to kill it."
While the virus has been contained, there is now emotional support for HIV/AIDS patients.
In Manatee and Sarasota, there is a cornucopia of support for people who are HIV/AIDS positive including a half-dozen or so programs offered by Trinity Charities of Sarasota, Community AIDS Network and The Michael Bach Health Center of Manatee County, part of MCR Health Services.
"It's nothing like it used to be when you were utterly alone," Trifari said.
Emotional boost
There are about 1,200 people in Manatee and Sarasota who are battling AIDS, said Trifari, who is on the board of Trinity Charities, a Sarasota-based organization which provides services to those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS in Sarasota and Manatee counties and to the general community.
"Those who volunteer at Trinity are passionate about helping HIV/AIDS sufferers in any way they can," Trifari said.
Every year around this time, Trifari said he gets an emotional boost when a large percentage of the 1,200 show up to take part in a walk for AIDS.
This year's 10th annual AIDS Walk is scheduled for Dec. 5. Macy's and Wells Fargo are among the sponsors, said Lori Babyak with Trinity Charities.
"The 2-mile walk will begin at J.D. Hamel Park in Sarasota and proceed over the iconic Ringling Bridge," Babyak said.
Teams are now being formed and more than 500 walkers are expected, Babyak added.
Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the walk will start at 9 a.m. with food and drink, raffles, music and prizes.
"We are asking people to put together teams of friends, family members and co-workers," Babyak said.
Anyone interested can register at trinitycharities.org or call 941-355-0847.
The AIDS Walk supports the programs of Trinity Charities Inc which include education, wellness, a food pantry, pet support programs and an emergency financial aid fund, Babyak said.
"For many AIDS patients, their pet is crucial to their well-being," Trifari said.
Trifari's story one of survival
Trifari, who was in the hotel and restaurant business in New Jersey and is a past president of the New Jersey Hotel Association, began experiencing HIV symptoms in 1981, when much was unknown about HIV/AIDS.
"I was losing weight," he recalls. "Things were not going well."
Trifari's partner was also ill. The pair had heard that men in San Francisco were also experiencing symptoms. Trifari went to a doctor in New York in 1983.
"I remember he called me into office and said, 'Mr. Trifari, I would suggest you take care of all your things because you have six months to live,' " Trifari recalls.
"I got into my car and that day in New York they had gridlock," Trifari added. "I cried all the way home and it took me seven and a half hours to get home."
When he got home he remembers saying to himself, "I have to live."
As the years rolled by, 95 percent of Trifari's friends died. But he and his partner did not.
The worst he experienced was swollen lymph nodes under his neck that would not go down for years and constant exhaustion.
"I recently told a doctor about my case and he said, 'You got a wimpy strain of HIV that attacked you but did not kill you,' " Trifari said.
The drugs Trifari takes have reduced the virus in his body to a negligible level, he said.
"I always advise people to take their drugs every day," he said. "You don't mess with that."
When Trifari moved to the area he raised money for the AIDS clinics in Sarasota and Manatee which now help hundreds.
"I refuse to let it get the best of me," Trifari said. " I am very strong, I will not give up hope. I do the same thing when I see clients. They see me with AIDS and I am smiling and alive. I want to establish myself for being a model for someone so they can beat this thing,"
HIV/AIDS resources in Manatee, Sarasota
Trinity Charities Inc. hosts a community health forum 7-8 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month at Church of the Trinity MCC, 7225 Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota, and offers an hour of nutritional and lifestyle education to the community.
Trinity Charities Inc. offers a food pantry on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at Church of the Trinity MCC, 7225 Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota. During the food pantry pet food and a pet support program is offered to clients.
Trinity Charities Inc. offers a support group for HIV positive men to join in fellowship. The program is called POZ M4M and it is held 7-9 p.m. every Monday at Church of the Trinity MCC, 7225 Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota.
Community AIDS Network, commonly known as C.A.N., is a comprehensive care clinic for patients which offers medical, dental, mental health and case management, Trifari said. It is lat 1231 N. Tuttle Ave., Sarasota. Information: 941-366-0134.
The Michael Bach Health Center of Manatee County, part of MCR Health Services, offers case management, medical, social services and counseling," Trifari said of the agency at 2703 19th St. Ct. E., Bradenton. Information: 941-708-8500.
Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7072 or contact him via Twitter@RichardDymond.
This story was originally published November 23, 2015 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Richard Trifari of Sarasota has not let HIV/AIDS defeat him ."