Islander living with HIV for 3 decades reflects on World AIDS Day - CBC.ca

"It's a very difficult thing for me to talk about," said Perrot-Sanderson, in an interview tied to Dec.

1, which is World AIDS Day.

He said he was 21 years old when he was sexually assaulted, while he was living in Alberta. .

He has just started to see a counsellor to help him deal with the trauma.

It took two decades after AIDS was first identified in the early 1980s to find an effective combination of drugs to treat it.

"I just slowly prepared myself to die for a few years," Perrot-Sanderson said. .

He said he got more optimistic after he starting taking drugs to fight HIV. He volunteered and worked at AIDS PEI (later renamed PEERS Alliance) and was even acting executive director for a time. .

Still, as Perrot-Sanderson marks this World AIDS Day, he said it's important to remember the people who have not survived, noting: "I have lost a lot of friends over the years.".

"A lot of people just don't talk about it or think about it any more," he said. "We know how to protect ourselves now — we certainly know so much more, we know how to prevent this disease.".

Josie Baker is the executive director of PEERS Alliance, and hopes people will take part in an open house set up to mark World AIDS Day.

That means people can be assured nobody at the lab will know who tested positive.   .