I stumbled upon Shawn and Gwen’s YouTube channel one day while at work. As soon as I clicked on their link I became an instant fan!

Shawn and Gwen are a serodiscordent couple. Shawn is HIV positive, and Gwen is HIV negative. They met while both working in the field of HIV and sex education. There are many reasons I love them, one of the main reasons being that they are a perfect example of what I think humans should be like. They are the fight against stigma and discrimination, they are the example we should all be setting for each other. I have posted a few of their YouTube clips on my Facebook page in the hopes that people will watch them and get the picture that YES you can be in a loving, healthy, safe relationship with someone who is HIV positive, and NO you do not have to be afraid of contracting HIV (as long as you’re safe). They have many different videos surrounding safe sex, but the one that I’ve included here is one of my favorites. It’s my favorite because Gwen discusses why she is not scared of contracting HIV, and how she and Shawn have managed to have a safe healthy relationship for 13 years. From the looks of it these two are very much inlove, and will have a long healthy relationship ahead of them. I would like to spread the word and get these videos out there as much as possible. Humans could learn a thing or two from Shawn and Gwen.

 Something to do on Feb 23rd

Right now, there are more than one hundred and fifty thousand Canadians experiencing homelessness - outside. They are men and women, families and kids. Businessmen, students, mothers. Some were abused, abandoned and ignored. Some were just left behind and broken by the recession, by their choices, by life.

Like a snowflake, every one of their stories is unique. Like snowflakes, many will fall on the streets tonight - alone. And it's cold out there.

Sometimes small things can add up to bigger things. Like when a lot of people come get together to help a few. That's big. That's what the coldest night of the year is: a little walk for a big problem. It's a crowd of people stepping out into the cold night to raise money for the hungry, homeless and hurting in our community. When we join together to help, we can make a big difference.

More info here 

So I came accross this website called Nohomophobes.com.  This website that not only tracks certain homophobic phrases on Twitter, but also shows the people that are tweeting it. I must say, the first thing I thought when I saw this site is, "the numbers are extremely overwhelming". I could not believe that people still talk this way.

I'm pretty sure that if you click on the people that are tweeting these homphobic remarks, you will be able to retweet a response.

Wouldn't it be cool if a bunch of people just started tweeting back about how inappropriate the language they are using is? Something to think about.

ACG, Sanguen and the Guelph Community Health Centre are teaming up to deliver a workshop to those who are living with Hepatitis C. Whether you are going through treatment, thinking about treatment, or not thinking about it at all, you're welcome to join us. We have enough space for about 20 ppl; therefore, space is limited. You must register to be able to attend so please contact Cassandra Sheppard at 519-763-2255 ext 154, or by email at: hepc@aidsguelph.org, or contact Estera Brudek at: 519-498-0339, or by email at: ebrudek@sanguen.com. There will be a yummy meal provided, and who doesn't like free food? I know I do! Registration closes on November 28th and spaces will fill up fast! Don't miss out in your chance to attend this amazing workshop. Please see attached flyer or contact us for more details. See you there!

Cassandra Sheppard,

Hepatitis C Outreach Coordinator

Since I hadn’t trained much for this, I stopped to walk occasionally to catch my breath. I watched my 10 year old daughter run farther and farther ahead of me, but I encouraged her to because she told me she was going to try and run the whole thing.

The first 4 kilometers felt like they went on FOREVER! By the last kilometer I said to myself, “I am not going to walk anymore”, and I didn’t! I pushed myself to jog the entire last kilometer (it felt like it was never going to end!). When I saw the finish line I decided to go as fast as my body would let me. I saw my co-workers and friends at the sidelines cheering me on. I pushed myself to run even though I could barely feel my legs and I felt like was going to either faint or throw up. I saw the counter at the finish line counting up 34:53…34:54…34:55. I knew that I had to cross the finish line before those numbers hit 35:00.

I did it!! My time was 34:56 which isn’t too bad considering I stopped training in August. I sat down to try and catch my breath, and one of Guelph’s wonderful caring youth came to my aid. He brought me orange slices to suck on and I appreciated it because it really did help.

After I caught my breath, I had an incredible feeling of accomplishment run through me, and I knew that I could do this again. Next year I will train harder, and I will beat my time, because I know that I can. I am so proud of everyone that did this run, including myself, and I can’t wait to do it again next year.

My daughter ended up finishing with a time of just over 33 minutes. I'm so proud of her because she set her mind to something and she stuck it out. She jogged the entire 5k, and that was her goal.

The moral of the story (and it may sound corny, but it’s true!). You can do just about anything if you put your mind to it, even if your body is telling you NO. And when you’ve accomplished your goal, you will feel really really good about yourself, I sure did!

Cassandra Sheppard,
Hepatitis C Outreach Coordinator

 With the exeptions of a few people that would rather blow the condom up like a balloon, throw them in the air, or looked at us with fear in their eyes, people were very receptive to us, and the bars had no problem letting us skip the line to go inside and hand out condoms. Quite a few people thanked us and told us we were doing a great job!

We had a lot of fun, and we look forward to more awesome nights of handing out condoms and assisting people in making safer choices regarding their sexual health.

Cassandra Sheppard,

Hepatitis C Outreach Coordinator

 We know that during Frosh Week the risk of unprotected sex goes up, partly because of the increased consumption of alcohol, among other things. We really want to do our part to help people be make safer choices regarding their sexual health.

Cassandra Sheppard,

Hepatitis C Outreach Coordinator

Acg and Sanguen’s World Hepatitis Day event was a huge success! Many people in the downtown core came by for a visit and a free drink/snack, and I was constantly putting free red and yellow feather extensions in people’s hair. The lineup was long, and we loved every second of it. The community loved the idea, and the square was consistently busy.

People walking by stopped and asked what was going on. I really think we got the word out on Hep C awareness. People that didn’t know anything about Hep C asked questions and seemed genuinely interested in the answers.

Public Health was there too! Christina from public health was very helpful, and I am very grateful that she was there. I seriously do not know what we would have done without her.

A huge thank you to Estera, Jan and Martine from Sanguen for your partnership on this project, and all of your hard work. I could not have done this without you! I look forward to working with you on future projects.

Cassandra Sheppard
Hepatitis C Outreach Coordinator

In honor of World Hepatitis Day, ACG and Sanguen are partnering in the St. George's Square, downtown Guelph on July 30th 2012. We will be providing people with free synthetic red and yellow feather extensions to increase Hep C awareness throughout the community. Come by say hi, grab something to eat and have a cold refreshment, get a feather extension…. or two, and chat about Hep C. See you there!!

Cassandra Sheppard,
Hepatitis C Outreach Coordinator

Cassandra Sheppard
Hepatitis C Outreach Coordinator

Note: ACG's new Hep-tonic blog  posts will be available here on our community blog. They are also available at the Hep-tonic blog page .

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the Hep-tonic blog. The first Hep-tonic bloggers are Ruby Tuesday and Taboo. They will be sharing their personal stories on: their struggles with addictions, growing up, and living with Hep C. I really think that you will enjoy reading their stories. I know I have!   Cassandra Sheppard Hepatitis C Outreach Coordinator

April 5th, 2003 started like any other day. I awoke, and went out to get my morning methadone drink and some smokes. As I was on my route home, BANG!!!! That’s when it happened….. I was in a car accident. That bang will resonate in my head for the rest of my days. I can’t say I remember much, other than not wanting to die. After that, it was lights out. Apparently they took me via helicopter to Sunnybrook Hospital. I was busted up pretty bad; both of my legs were dislocated, my hips were fractured, my pelvis was broken, and my right patella (kneecap) was shattered. I remember coming to for a moment as a gentleman was casting my right leg from hip to toe, and then I was right back out. I had a fractured disc in my neck, multiple head lacerations and a concussion. My status at this point was referred to as non weight bearing (confined to a bed and a wheelchair). Not bad for a day’s work, ha! Needless to say, I was on enough meds to put an elephant out.

The next time I awoke, I was not in a room, but in the basement of the hospital, and I was surrounded by concrete block walls. I can remember 2 girls watching over me. There were no lights, just the emergency lighting. When I asked where I was, one of the girls walked out, and the other one provided no answer, and then I was out again. The next time I came to, it was 2 days later. I was in a room with a view, and I was hooked up to everything. Apparently they did my toxicology report, which indicated zero drugs and zero alcohol. What they didn’t consider is that I had just taken my methadone 5 minutes before the accident. It hadn’t soaked into my body; and for that reason, it hadn’t shown up in the report, so they pumped me full of morphine. When my methadone kicked in, I went under. They had to Narcan me to get me stable. I suppose this was all kept hush hush because it wasn’t in any reports, and when questions were asked, no-one was available.

For the next 2 weeks I was doted on and kept a very close eye on. Then came rehabilitation time.

I was taken to a rehabilitation centre not too far away. I was determined to get out of this wheelchair. It had a stigma all on its own. So I went at it hard. I did water exercises in the pool, anything I could do in the gym, I was even working from my chair. After being told that I may not walk as good as some people, or maybe not even at all, I worked day in and day out to prove that theory wrong.

It took me 6 months, but I was on my way home, and I was walking!

All was great. Here I am, 5 to 6 years later, still on all the same meds that I am still very dependent on. I am very lucky to be walking, but I can’t do the stairs the way I used to be able to. I can’t run anymore, and I walk with a bit of a limp. Heavy lifting or repetitive tasks are a definite problem for me. But with a regimen of pain suppressants, I manage once again to live and love my life. My biggest problem now seems to be the stigma in dealing with my ongoing chronic pain, and trying to find help in my battle against it.

Taboo

By: Ruby Tuesday

 So here I sit, a 40 something female. I like to see myself as a throw back from   the sixties. My son on the other hand says that I am just embarrassing and crazy. What does he know at 15? I sit and ponder at my last comment “what does he know?” Well, I think back to being 15, and from what I remember……. I knew it all!! Oh yes, there was nothing, and I mean nothing, I didn’t know. I had it all figured out.
By the time I was 16, I was quitting school and getting me a nice little job up the road at the Life Jacket Factory. Perfect!! No more school and no more mom telling me what to do. I was gonna save up and get me an apartment. I’d have the coolest little set up ever. I can still see it in my mind’s eye.

On December 18th sometime in the late 70’s, which is my birthday that I share with Keith Richards (explains my craziness), The Who was playing on the TV. I was turning 16. Well YEE FREAKIN HAW! We had all dropped a couple of hits of Acid (or A-Bomb). What a party……. I think.
When Monday morning rolled around I insisted on telling my mom my little plan. You know, the one with the job and my own apartment. I couldn’t believe my ears! She says to me “What a great idea!” Can you believe it? What a great freakin idea! My mom is the coolest ever! Then she gives me a big smile and says, “as soon as you get the job, we'll sit down and figure out your room and board”. “WHAT?” I say, “I can’t afford room and board, I’m saving for my cool little apartment”. At that point my mom sprang the “nothing in life is free” speech at me.

After the lovely little speech, my mother then earned the pet name Grezelda.

Grezelda let the little speech soak in for a few days. I was then informed that if I attended school, I could live there free and mother dearest (Grezelda) would support me. No school….. no freebies. Unfortunately, since I had my “major plan” I had missed so much school (168 days), that I was unable to get all my credits. Brilliant!! More time in school. Now What?

To be continued……..
Teenage wasteland, oh yeah they’re all wasted!
The Who – Yes Album
Who’s Next?

Ruby Tuesday