From Kingston PFLAG Chapter

Dear Community of Kingston

Every day in every community across Canada, people are dealing with situations arising from fear, shame, misunderstanding or lack of awareness. Right now, in Kingston whether or not we are part of the LGBTQ community, we are facing action, possibly rooted in hate, certainly rooted in malice, which should be of concern to us all. We have seen a rise in expressions of prejudice, most recently by people, so far protected by anonymity, who are writing malicious and threatening letters to Kingston families. 

Many years ago that same situation, and many, many like it, inspired people to form an inclusive and supportive organization for people whose sexual orientation, gender identity or gender appearance caused them or their loved ones discomfort, fear or harm. That organization, PFLAG Canada, has a local Chapter in Kingston.
Our local Chapter, like Chapters all over Canada, has provided safe, peer-based, non-judgmental help and resources to thousands, in situations involving people who need help, from simple listening and the offering of friendship to suicide-prevention. We’ve been here for years when we were needed. We’re here now for anyone who is intimidated, who feels fear or who suffers bullying due to the behaviour of people whose prejudice leads them to unlawful and frightening behaviour. 

We know that our city officials take this threat seriously, and that they see it is menacing not just to the letter recipients but to the whole community. Our challenge is in knowing what to do.

If you are concerned for yourself or someone else, call our line at 613 766-1444. 

If you are the perpetrator of these or similar threatening actions, know that you are not going to push us back into the closet. 

If you want to show support for the LGBTQ community and the families who are the target of these threatening letters, write a note on our PFLAG Kingston Facebook page or tweet your support to pflagcan_king.

In hope for our community,

Stephen Hartley

Karen's letter_fr

KAREN LAMBERT

Ceci n’est pas la traduction de toute la lettre de Karen, mais seulement de certaines sections où elle explique pourquoi sa santé l’inquiète et où elle parle de ce qui, selon elle, peut devenir une pandémie. Pour lire la lettre de Karen en entier danssa version originale en anglais

 « Je souffre du syndrome de fatigue chronique et dysfonction immunitaire (SFC/SFCDI/EM) et du sida non dû au VHI ou lymphocytopénie CD4 idiopathique (ICL). Munie de ces deux diagnostiques cliniques, je pense que le SFC et l’ICL sont essentiellement le même mystérieux trouble immunitaire. …Peu importe ce à quoi je fais face en ce moment, cela ressemble fortement à un exemple patent de VIH\SIDA. Mais pour compliquer mon enquête, je satisfait aussi cliniquement aux critères des CDC (Centres de contrôle et prévention des maladies) pour le diagnostique du syndrome de fatigue chronique… »

« De plus en plus, j’ai l’impression que mon diagnostique systémique est emporté dans les tourbillons perfides du SFC/EM et du sida. La plupart des personnes affectées par le SFC/EM n’aiment pas parler des nombreux symptômes et anomalies du système immunitaire qu’elles partagent avec les personnes qui souffrent du sida. Je pense également que la plupart des patients préfèreraient qu’on leur annonce qu’ils souffrent du très mystérieux SFC plutôt que du sida. »

« Je suis titulaire d’une maîtrise. Dans l’entreprise où je travaille, je suis gestionnaire. Je suis une ancienne triathlète. Je n’ai jamais pris de drogues injectables. Je n’ai jamais voyagé à l’étranger. Je peux compter mes partenaires sexuels sur les doigts de mes deux mains. Du point de vue statistique, je sais que ma maladie, non diagnostiquée et contagieuse, n’est pas rare…alors, dites-moi, si elles ne tombent pas dans la catégorie des divers  SFC/EM, où place-t-on toutes ces autres personnes immunodéficientes?.... Pourquoi ne lit-on rien au sujet des cas de sida qui ne sont pas dus au VIH (et/ou de la ressemblance du SFC au sida) à la une de tous les journaux du monde?.... »

« Aussi inquiétante qu’est pour moi ma santé, je suis extrêmement inquiète de la forte possibilité que plus de gens sont infectés chaque minute, que des cas de sida non liés au VHI (comme le mien) puissent ne pas être décelés – surtout si on en vient à découvrir que le virus du SIDA et le SFCDI/ME sont pratiquement la même chose. » 

Pour en savoir plus sur le sida d’origine autre que le VHI et pour découvrir le *nouveau* visage du SIDA, veuillez consulter CFS Straight Talk

Karen's letter

by Karen Lambert

I have Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFS/CFIDS/ME) and HIV-NEGATIVE AIDS, idiopathic CD lymphocytopenia. With these two clinical diagnoses, I believe that makes me living proof that the AIDS-like CFS/ME is transmissible, something that the medical establishment seems unable to admit or to acknowledge. I also believe it makes me living proof that CFS and HIV-NEGATIVE AIDS are basically the same mysterious immune disorder.

Three years ago, after a heterosexual sexual encounter, I became seriously ill with what looks like the natural disease progression of AIDS. After an “acute infection” and a “period of asymptomatic
health”, I have fallen extremely ill to an unrelenting, progressively-worsening AIDS-like demise. I can pinpoint exactly when I was infected with my “chronic viral syndrome of unknown etiology”
and because the “acute infection” stage was so distinguishable, I can also pinpoint exactly when my undiagnosed pathogen left my body and infected yet another host.

Whatever I am currently dealing with, it strongly resembles classic textbook HIV/AIDS disease. But, to add to my inquiry, I also clinically satisfy the CDC’s criteria for the diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Increasingly, I have become concerned that my systemic diagnosis is caught up in the treacherous politics of CFS/ME and AIDS. Most people with CFS/ME do not like to talk about the many symptoms and immune abnormalities that they share with AIDS patients. I also suspect that most ailing patients would rather be told that they have the very mysterious CFS than to be told that they have AIDS.

I have a Master’s degree. I am a director at my firm. I used to be a triathlete. I have never used IV drugs. I have never traveled abroad. I can count my sexual partners on two hands. Statistically speaking, I know that my undiagnosed infectious and communicable disease is not rare…so, you tell me, if they are not in the miscellaneous CFS/ME category, where are all these other immunosuppressed people?

Anyone with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, who does not consider the possibility that CFS/ME will eventually progress to a NON-HIV AIDS diagnosis, is very well trumping their own ability to diagnosis the root cause of their illness.

Why isn’t CFS/ME a reportable disease overseen by our public health department? Why are ME and CFS (i.e., the same exact disorder) suspiciously categorized as two separate illnesses on a worldwide level (i.e., by ICD codes)? Doesn’t anyone else but me, very clearly see, the catastrophic cover-up going on here?

Why are we not reading about Non-HIV AIDS cases (and/or the AIDS-like nature of CFS) on the front pages of every newspaper in the world? And if CFS/ME is Non-HIV AIDS, then, depending on who you believe, there are anywhere between 500,000 – 14,000,000 Americans out there with a transmissible illness. If that is what it truly is, our new form of AIDS dwarfs the ‘original’ AIDS epidemic — tenfold!

I want honest answers for myself, for everyone who is suffering from this hideous illness, and especially for those who remain uninfected by my undiagnosed infectious and communicable disease.

As worrisome as my health is to me, I am extremely troubled by the strong likelihood that more people are being infected every minute that Non-HIV AIDS cases (like mine) are allowed to go undetected – especially if it turns out that AIDS and CFIDS/ME are basically the same disorder.

You can label my AIDS-like illness whatever you wish. I would even allow you to call it infectious-CFS, even though it is utterly beyond my realm of comprehension as to how the medical establishment can generically name an entire disease paradigm based on just one (of my numerous) symptom(s).

Regardless of how politics may try to dissuade or delude you, all you need to know is that my idiopathic immune dysfunction is infectious! It is contagious! And it is spreading, unleashed, in the world’s population!

I am not afraid to say that I have AIDS without HIV — idiopathic CD lymphocytopenia — my second official clinical diagnosis. I am equally as unafraid of saying the most obvious thing about CFS/ME: it sure does look like AIDS to me.

We talk openly about preparing for an impending Avian Flu pandemic. Why not talk about the HIV-NEGATIVE AIDS epidemic that already exists (and is spreading) amongst us?

If it takes courage to think and to say the things that I do, I hope that there will be a miraculous outbreak of bravery from coast-to-coast. I stopped fighting for myself a long, long time ago. I
fight for humanity.

I demand a CFS/HIV revolution. Vive La Revolución‏.

To learn more about non-HIV AIDS, and to see the *new* face of AIDS, please visit: CFS Straight Talk

Could I be you?

Karen Lambert

Powerpoint Presentation: Effective Leadership

With the generous help of RBC and two other donors, and with cooperation from all the  PFLAG Canada Region 3 grant recipients, we held a conference at Trent University at the end of May 2011.

This site can be a way for you to benefit from the great experience we had.  It was amazing to see how we learned from each other at the regional conference, and how broad and diverse were the skills we all brought to the table.

Other presentations that were made at the Conference will be posted at this site over the next few days.  If you would like to be notified when the posts are up, use "Follow" at the upper right of this post and notice of updates will be e-mailed to you.  If you were at the conference, you already have copies of these presentations on your flash drives.

Click here for the presentation on Effective Leadership.  Please contact me if you'd like clarification or want to discuss any part of the material.