From: M Petrelis <MPetrelis@aol.com>
Date: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 01:38:27 EDT
Subject: Fwd: Steve Michael is ill with AIDS and in a DC hospital


PLEASE REPOST!!    PLEASE REPOST!!    PLEASE REPOST!!

dear friends,

i have been asked to post this sad message by wayne turner of act up
/washington.  wayne'S partner of almost seven years, steve michael, is laying
in an intensive care unit at a d.c. hospital and is not expected to live much
longer.  i have been authorized by wayne, who was granted power of attorney
over steve yesterday, to post a few details about steve declining medical
condition. 

steve is ill with many opportunistic infections, including, p.c.p. in his
lungs, an anal ulcer, intenstinal parasites, and k.s. lesions on his face.
his t cell count is low and steve has almost died twice in the past few days
from too many complications.

mickey wheatley, a gay attorney and activist, has aided wayne and steve in
their legal concerns.  and patsy lynch, lesbian photo journalist, visited with
them in the hospital to take photos of steve's condition.  they are trying to
get the images scanned and shared on the internet, as quickly as possible.
steve wants to educate people on the web about what aids did to him.

i don't know which hospital he is in, and wayne does NOT want folks calling
the act up/washington phone to either offer support, or to inquire about
steve's condition.  
wayne wants the aids community, via the internet, to know what steve is going
through right now, for many political reasons and he asks folks to raise just
a little bit more hell in honor of all that steve has done in d.c. on behalf
of people with aids.

thought is being given by wayne and steve to use his corpse for a political
funeral in d.c.  they hope to secure all the necessary permits to hold a
political aids funeral in the nation's capitol.  i will post further
information about of this as soon as wayne again authorizes me to.

and i ask that you do something extra to cure aids today, for the work and
life of steve michael, while he is still alive.  we may lose steve in the next
few days, and we will lose more people to aids, let us not forget those who
have passed before, and fight like hell for the living.  i can't begin to
express the hard feelings i have gone through just to write this short note,
thinking about losing steve is doing a number on my head.

ACT UP!  FIGHT BACK!  FIGHT AIDS!

--mp