Hi - I am David Patient. I have lived with HIV and AIDS since my diagnosis in 1983, at the ripe old age of 22. In many ways, I have been around HIV and AIDS since the very beginning. I guess I am what is called a long-term survivor...
When you live this long with a life-threatening condition, it changes the way you view the world. It also changes the way you see what is important, and what is not. I have created this website so that I can share some of the experience I have gathered along the way. I'm happy to debate issues, share my experiences, my thoughts and my feelings with anyone who takes time to contact me.
Most of what I do is done through my company, Empowerment Concepts, which I own and run jointly with Neil Orr, a research psychologist.
I live on a farm near Nelspruit (Mpumalanga Province, South Africa), which is a gorgeous sub-tropical area of the world, very close to the Kruger National Park. I enjoy the open spaces, and peace and quiet. I spend a great deal of time travelling and working with people, so returning home is where I get my head sorted out, and get ready for the next trip. I strongly believe in 'filling up' so that I can give to others, and it is at home that I 'fill up'.
Together with Neil, I design and present trainings for a variety of groups: Community trainings on issues of HIV and AIDS, food security, and Positive Living (Wellness for both those living with HIV, and people in general).
We also do corporate trainings, such as Leadership Development, Personal Empowerment (an EQ-type process), and Wellness Educator (which has a broader scope than the HIV/AIDS-type Peer Educator Trainings).
We have also published several books, including Positive Health, Choices (an up-to-date book for ordinary people about HIV/AIDS), Sex Secrets (life skills for teens and young adults), and The Healer Inside You (a PNI-based at-home therapy protocol). You can check out these books at the Empowerment Concepts website.
