David Ross Patient,long- term AIDS survivor, HIV/AIDS educator & motivational speaker David Patient inspires life into anyone fortunate enough to have an encounter with him. Born March 13 1961 in a small mining town in Northern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, he was adopted at the age of 10 weeks.
At the age of 22 years he was diagnosed with Aids, he lived with an HIV diagnosis for the past 26 years of which 22 years were without antiretroviral therapy.
During International Condom week on the 11th of February, he visited the University of the Free State (UFS) and gave an enriching motivational speech to 149 students, staff and community members at the CRS Auditorium. The theme of his talk was having a vision towards one’s future. Patient emphasised the importance of having a vision for your future regardless of your
HIV status. He further stressed the promotion of healthy living diet and spoke about the different kinds of nutrients one needs in order to ensure that they stay healthy.
The main idea in the speech was to make people aware of the importance in long-term planning and that it starts today with looking after one’s body in order to ensure a long and healthy life.
According to Patient, who speaks candidly about his status, the only reason that he is able to live so long is that he was realistic and had accepted what had happened, therefore he was able to adjust his lifestyle and change his eating diet.
He also stated that an HIV positive person must know what to eat and which things to stay away from as this will help the immune system stay healthy.
Patient created a relaxed atmosphere as he spoke to the students. He spoke in a tone and used vocabulary that the students could easily relate to and had everyone laughing rather nervously as he spoke freely about HIV/AIDS.
According to Mapisto Sebothoma, social work student and peer educator at the HIV/AIDS centre, the event was a fulfilling one and touching at the same time. She really enjoyed the event and learned a lot especially the fact that David’s Positive living (wellness for those living with HIV) included other people in general.
The kovsie-HIV/AIDS centre put a lot of effort into this event and we were pleased with the outcome says John Makoatsane, a staff member at the centre. It shows that more students are becoming aware and learning something new on this topic.
David Patient has also written a few books which are available in bookshops around South Africa and to know more about him you can log onto his website at www.davidpatient.com |