I love Dr. Bob.
I came across his forum at "The Body" the way most of his numerous fans came across it: worried that I might have exposed myself to the risk of contracting the virus that causes AIDS. I searched the Internet for information on whether my fears were reasonable. Information was to be found all over the place. Dr. Bob’s coolheadedness, humanity, immediacy and incredible sense of humor, on the other hand, were to be found nowhere else. My question was answered a long time ago, and yet I still frequently log onto his forum, and I am one of many to do so! It is packed with information, full of human stories, at times touching, oftentimes laugh-out-loud funny.
Dr. Bob, or to be more official, Dr. Robert J. Frascino M.D., speaks from a unique vantage point: a board-certified allergist/immunologist, one of the first doctors to specialize in AIDS and the virus that causes it – HIV – and at the same time a carrier of the virus himself for almost 16 years now, he has the unique advantage of seeing things “from both sides of the examination table,” as he says himself. He was infected in 1991 from a needlestick accident, which he sustained while he was performing a routine medical procedure on a patient with advanced AIDS. He often says he’s living on “borrowed time,” as at the time of his infection his life expectancy was not more than 6 or 7 years. But he has never given in; he faces the dozens of pills he has to down every day (and all their serious side effects) with unending optimism and humor, and he’s always there to support not only others infected by the virus, but also the misinformed public at large like myself, and even a whole bunch of paranoiacs who touched a stripper’s nipple and their worst fear is getting what Dr. Frascino has been living with for the past 16 years!
The philanthropic organization he owns and runs with his longtime partner, Dr. Steven Natterstad M.D., has raised more than a million dollars for the fight against AIDS. As they both are accomplished pianists, they hold highly successful fundraising concerts; funds are also raised through their connections to pharmaceutical companies, through their organization’s website, and also through Bob’s many fans from his forum at The Body. Their organization also runs a clinic in which, contrary to the HMO’s and the American government’s whims, patients and test seekers are treated with absolute confidentiality/anonymity, compassion, and understanding – there is always someone with you during the 20 minutes you have to wait for the result of the diagnostic test you just took, and if the result is negative (which is to say, happy), you are not only allowed but rather encouraged to go running up and down the hallway screaming, “WOOOO-HOOOO!!”
In Greece, although we fortunately have free diagnostic tests and, even more importantly, free and universal access to the very expensive, life-saving anti-retroviral medications, when it comes to public information and awareness, be it the sero-positive public or the sero-negative, we unfortunately have a long way to go still. Don’t wonder. Don’t stick your head in the sand pretending it can’t touch you. Don’t avoid getting tested. Drop in to Dr. Bob’s forum – not only will you learn a lot but you will also laugh your head off, and you will draw strength and life inspiration from a magnificent human being. And if you still have questions, don’t hesitate to ask him.
Dr. Bob’s forum at The Body can be found at http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/SafeSex/index.html.
Natalia Gryntaki
