René Silvin led an exciting, powerful and enviable life as an executive with an international hospital management company. He traveled the world and met many dignitaries, celebrities and important people along the way.
He also came “out” of the closet in the late 1970’s and participated in the gay sexual revolution at some of the high spots in California, Florida, New York and Europe. Not surprisingly, he eventually became infected with HIV and AIDS.
Walking the Rainbow An Arc to Triumph, is René Silvin’s personal journal about his experiences in the hospital management arena, his personal life, and his battle with HIV/AIDS. In the early 1980’s, gay men began experiencing health care problems and an odd set of symptoms began to show a pattern. Silvin had connections with some of the greatest medical minds in Europe who began to investigate this pattern. The book describes their findings.
Intertwined in this journal about the discovery of the virus and how homophobia and the political environments on several continents allowed it to escalate into a pandemic, is the author’s own personal love life. When Silvin and his first partner, Tim both discovered they were infected with the virus, they celebrated the fact that they knew their time was limited and that they will make the most of every day.
Shortly after Tim’s death, the author met Bob who helped him begin to make sense of this tragic loss and how to deal with his own family and subsequent illness and deaths.
In the 1990’s Bob and Silvin met one of the most enlightened HIV philanthropists in the U.S. Silvin left the world of hospital management and found a new career in the non-profit environment working with AIDS Help. When the philanthropist was murdered a few years later, the two become involved in creating the largest HIV Physician Practice Management group in the U.S. in his honor.
Throughout the book are historical details about the evolution of HIV and AIDS as well as an insight into the evolution of AIDS medications and treatments. Europe has long been much less homophobic and more progressive about the research and treatment of this disease.
Why some succumb quickly and yet others continue to survive and even thrive is a mystery. European theories point to genetic composition. With further research in this area, hopefully a vaccine will eventually be produced. This hope has been on the horizon for almost thirty years now.
After battling cancer that almost killed him, Silvin had to fight to save Bob from the same form of cancer. They lost this battle but not without a heroic fight. Silvin’s subsequent battle to emerge from his depression lead to his own “arc to triumph.”
As the nineties progressed, the number of AIDS deaths continued to rise, but a strange thing also began to happen. People with AIDS began to live long past the expectations. This presented a whole new set of challenges as thriving with AIDS allowed people to return to their lives but also presented the challenge of learning how to live with the disease.
This has also affected AIDS research as some of the fear of getting AIDS has been lost and the urgency to prevent and cure the disease seems less of a priority.
This book serves as a great reminder of why we need to continue the quest for a vaccine and a cure. It is a must read for all in the health care profession.
Walking the Rainbow An Arc to Triumph by Richard René Silvin (2008) Whitmore Publishing Co.; Pittsburgh, PA. ISBN 978-0-87426-073-1
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