There has been a great deal of anxiety about the provider who recently retired because, according to her, she has a "horrible disease."  This has caused great distress in the community. There has been much speculation and concern over whether she is lying or telling the truth.  Well, for what it is worth, I can confirm that the provider is lying - one way or the other - because she told me an entirely different story.  The provider said she is retiring for specific family reasons wholly unrelated to any physical problems and certainly not because of a "horrible disease."  So, fortunately (or unfortunately), as the case may be, she is in fact lying one way or the other.

Because your cared for the community

or

Because it is damaging your business

or

you just have nothing else to do?

I guess it doesn't matter. She wanted to retire, she told the truth or did not.....and made people aware of the importance of being tested in the process. Not entirely wrong or bad if you ask me. Her reasons are her own....everyone get tested and move on now....the fork has been poked in the meat and it is def done now.

When exactly did she tell you this ?

I am interested in following up on this for a couple of reasons.  First and foremost, I am concerned for the individuals involved.  Second, I think it raises important issues for the community to work through.  Particularly, the issue of the TER's rating structure and the activities it encourages.

As for me, I saw this provider and although I usually adhere to the "Everything Covered" philosophy, she is one of the few providers from whom I've gotten a BBBJ.  I get tested from time to time and have been tested multiple times since I last saw her. Thankfully, I am clean.  (And for the record, you will not find her among my reviews.)

For the provider, when the news first broke, I sent her a note expressing my concern and best wishes.  I didn't get a response, but that did not surprise me given the situation.  HIV positive or not, I hope that she those close to remain happy and healthy.  

For those that who have been in contact with her, I hope that they are happy and healthy too.  It goes without saying that regular testing is good practice.  

For the community, the frank and open discussion about safety that followed is a good one.  TER policy is that you need to perform certain services uncovered in order to get higher ratings.  Although there are occasional postings criticizing this policy, the criticism is not sustained.  And there are always counter postings defending it.

As you might guess, I happen to disagree with this policy.  However, I am not one to proselytize.  Heck I haven't even posted much until recently.  What I do want is to add my voice to those who have said that they disagree with this policy and that is should be re-evaluated.

If you protect yourself and use condoms for sex and oral sex... then you wont have to worry about these things. Not sure how some of you started thinking oral sex without a condom is ok.

At this point, the real reason she retired doesn't matter anymore.  If you have seen her recently, it is probably a good idea to get tested just in case.  She's retired now and we should just leave her alone and stop debating whether it is true or not.  No one will ever know the truth except for the provider.  As you can see, I just got tested and I'm moving on.  I wish her well for the future.

Posting under an alias immediately sets your credibility to ZERO.  There is no reason one should believe you--or not believe you.  Posted this way it is of no value.

I would have hoped that an important topic would have been done with a "real" handle that has a posting and review history that allows others to read and assess the credibility of the post in context.  Aliases do have their (limited) value, this is not one of them.

In this case I will believe sources I know over your statement any day.  You may be someone who has never made a single post in the DC board, or you may be a known commodity in the region--too bad we cannot tell either way.

I spoke to her live several times in mid-to-late August - at exactly the same time she was telling others the story of the "horrible disease."  She told me in great detail she was retiring for family reasons unrelated to any disease or other physical issues.  The provider is held in high regard by many (most) in our community, but there is absolutely no question she is lying one way or the other and caused serious anxiety for this community.