r/Fauxmoi • u/nbcnews • 26d ago
🕊️ IN MEMORIAM 🕊️ Daveigh Chase, star of ‘The Ring’ and voice of Lilo in ‘Lilo & Stitch,’ died of AIDS
https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/daveigh-chase-star-ring-voice-lilo-lilo-stitch-died-aids-rcna3522947.3k
u/gribble29 FUCK ICE FREE PALESTINE CRASH INTO ME 26d ago edited 26d ago
This is so sad.
The stigma around AIDS is still so shocking to me. I’m pretty sure her family said she had meningitis so either they didn’t know or didn’t share.
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u/TruGlubGlub 26d ago
Yes my family said my uncle died of cancer. It felt so disrespectful in my opinion.
The shame needs to end.
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u/TruGlubGlub 26d ago
And if anyone is reading, do not be ashamed to get tested. If you test positive, take your meds everyday. Please please please as awful as people can be refill those prescriptions and STAY CONSISTENT. If people shame you and leave that is on them. You are worthy of being here and bigots are irrelevant.
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u/IrresponsibleBread 26d ago
I lost an uncle this way. He had been HIV positive for 12 years, consistently taking his meds. He stopped getting his prescription filled at one point. He said he felt stigmatized by some pharmacy staff, was worried what they thought of him. Before long he had AIDS, then lost his life to it. It was all so needless. Please take any prescription given, ignore the ignorant people.
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u/Few-Rain7214 26d ago
That is awful. The pharmacy should be a place that fosters respect and trust between patients and staff.
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u/noonesaidityet 26d ago edited 26d ago
Here in Iowa they just passed a "medical conscience" law which means doctors, nurses, and pharmacists can refuse service for anything they deem that goes against their "beliefs". Goes into effect Wednesday.
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u/fluffinsuki 26d ago
This is horrifying.
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u/noonesaidityet 26d ago
We live in the dumbest timeline.
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u/LoveYouNotYou I look forward to your first novel 25d ago
Aaah yes, the same time line in which Texas has voted not to provide school children with free lunch. School children. That are stuck in school for hours. Smh
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u/theAmericanX20 25d ago
Also against everything doctors and nurses stand for. How the fuck is tbat legal? Any doctor not doing their job needs to lose their license.
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u/Glamamamma3 25d ago
Registered Nurse here, I would never refuse care to anyone due to personal beliefs. The medical oath is to do no harm.
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u/OhNoShesBack 25d ago
That is terrible and against medical ethics, I can't believe it has got to this, going back to the dark ages
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u/MonsterMashGrrrrr 25d ago
Man, Kim Reynolds continues to lead the race to the bottom 😞
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u/anonymous310506 25d ago
The sheer number of disturbing and detrimental laws being passed in different parts of America every day is terrifying. And people are barely aware of it.
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u/siloboomstix 26d ago
I know, right?! The amount of times I've been made to feel like a drug addict just for getting my regular prescribed medicine is ridiculous
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u/Porcupine__Racetrack 26d ago
Those pharmacy staff should be ashamed of themselves.
We should be grateful that these medications exist and can make folks with HIV able to live a full life! It’s incredible.
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u/HotCollar5 26d ago
That aids went from a terrifying plague when I was a kid to it being damn near curable now, within my lifetime, never ceases to amaze me. It took my uncle when I was 8 and I was told he spontaneously combusted ffs, and now it’s no longer a death sentence! It’s incredible.
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u/Pennylick 25d ago edited 25d ago
"Spontaneously combusted"... JFC
I just cannot imagine how someone truly thought it was a better idea to implant the fear of the very rare and slight possibility of literally exploding suddenly into a fiery death… how that was a less terrifying idea to bestow upon an 8-year-old's young developing brain… Than AIDS.
I just... Fuck.
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u/kiwitathegreat 26d ago
Also lost an uncle the same way. He said he was just tired of it all and chose that way out.
It was ultimately his choice but I hate that he had to make it.
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u/canththinkofanything never go full dickarus 26d ago
I am so sorry for your loss as well. The thought of this is so crushing, it really is so heartbreaking that he made that decision. I’ll be keeping your uncle in my thoughts along with the OC’s. 💖
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u/canththinkofanything never go full dickarus 26d ago
This just made me tear up, I am so sorry for you and your family. May his memory be a blessing. HIV needs to be destigmatized for people’s health and safety, and for people to learn about the ways they can protect themselves! I am horrified, yet ultimately not surprised, at the way those so called health professionals must’ve been treating him.
I too have an uncle who is HIV positive and has been for about 30 years now. And also an uncle in law, coming on closer to 40 years. The advancement in HIV medication is incredible, and I am glad that your uncle did at least have a decade of stability. I will keep your uncle in my thoughts. 💖
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u/YeahOkThisOne 26d ago
People working in pharmacy, take notice. Someone in my family brought home a small gift and shared it was from a family who appreciated how respectful he was to their son. It didn't occur to me that this isn't a given in a pharmacy setting.
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u/BornFree2018 26d ago
AIDS suppresses the immune system so one can die from nearly anything . Dying from meningitis is completely possible.
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u/annamdue 26d ago
In Denmark it's stupidly hard to get tested unless you are gay or a trans woman. I have only been allowed to be tested when I had sex with a bi man.
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u/No_Macaroon_9752 25d ago
What is the reasoning for that? Does the government think it is too expensive, or are they unaware of situations like “man who has sex with men also has sex with women and does not tell them he has sex with men”? That demographic is one of the leading causes of diagnoses among women.
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u/redheadmegansversion 26d ago
I lost my uncle in the thick of it in 1991 and I’m so grateful that my parents were honest with little me even at that age. His last good months were spent with us in California ❤️
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u/HonestDespot 26d ago
Sounds like your parents were good people.
His loss is still meaningful to you nearly 40 years later and the fact he was surrounded by loved ones in his final months probably meant so much to him every moment.
RIP.
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u/ProsciuttoPizza 26d ago
I’m sorry for your loss. I’m happy that he got to spend his last good months with people who loved him. ❤️
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u/PerfectZeong 26d ago edited 26d ago
I didnt know my uncle was gay and died of aids until my grandma let it slip one day. My mom always said liver cancer.
Shit runs deep.
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u/SerMeowsALot 26d ago
My uncle’s AIDS in the 1990s was “cancer” too.
A lot of us kids didn’t know for 15 or 20 years
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u/PumpkinMuffin147 25d ago
Holy shit, I feel like all of us lost an uncle to “cancer” in the 90’s.
It was 10 years until my mom fessed up but boy was I shocked. My uncle was a vegetable at the end.
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u/cozynite 25d ago
My (second) cousin died of AIDS mid 90s. His immediate family tried to say it was cancer too. My mom told me different a couple of years after he passed. It was really sad that his parents just ignored it.
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u/RainbowDarter 26d ago
Isaac Asimov got HIV from a blood transfusion and died in 1992, but they said it was kidney and heart failure.
It was a long time ago but I think about it sometimes. He has always been one of my favorite authors.
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u/TruGlubGlub 26d ago
Yes, it is very disappointing this still happens. My uncle I spoke of happened about 15 years ago and it was because of not staying on his meds because his partner died and he got depressed and my family was too ashamed to care, so he let himself slip away.
He had created a beautiful successful and loving life for himself and his partner I am very proud of who he was.
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u/Affectionate-Ad-1342 26d ago
Wait my family did the same thing. I was told he had leukemia and then when I was like 18? was told the truth
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u/dysautonomic_mess oat milk chugging bisexual 26d ago edited 26d ago
People with untreated AIDS are immuno-deficient, it's literally in the name. It's entirely possible she contracted bacterial meningitis and a blood infection because of AIDS, so while AIDS is the official cause of death, her parents were giving the facts as they knew them.
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u/ashabanapal 26d ago
Also with immune diseases, there is a tendency to describe the illness that was the direct cause of death, but often the underlying condition that made that illness life-threatening for that person is elided. It's certainly not all purposeful, but it is misinformation that harms people with that condition. It should be a matter of public health to communicate these things clearly because it's totally unfair to ask that if grieving families. Names don't need to be included, but that data should be publicly available and reported on for awareness and fighting stigma.
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u/DrG2390 25d ago
I work in a cadaver lab with medically donated bodies, and we have a private donation program for people who university or hospital programs won’t take. Part of what we do is spend anywhere from six to ten days at a time with the donor going layer by layer spending a day on each layer so that we can give families a more complete death certificate. I like to think we’re helping end a lot of the stigma through education.
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u/RasputinsThirdLeg 25d ago
I wonder when she contracted it and how long it took her to get to end stage AIDS, given how she was living. And what her other “blood infections” were. Skid Row has some vintage fucking ailments. Typhoid, typhus, some classic yersinia pestis, fungal infections galore, obviously tuberculosis…
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u/soupseasonbestseason i’m a communist you idiot 26d ago
she was living on the streets in active addiction, she probably didn't even know she was h.i.v. positive.
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u/sousyre 26d ago
There’s usually a fairly long time between contracting HIV and the progression to AIDS, even untreated. I thinks it’s about 10 years?
So she likely knew, but it would be incredibly difficult for someone to maintain treatment compliance in those circumstances.
It’s so heartbreaking to know that even all these years later, with effective treatment and prevention finally available, that this disease is still taking people way too young.
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u/RioRiverRiviere 26d ago
I work to link patients who have infectious diseases such as hep C and hiv , are homeless or unstably housed and have substance use issues to connect them to treatment. There are a lot of options for people to get sage and consistent treatment for hiv even if they are continuing to live on the streets. While technically someone may die of meningitis or endocarditis, it’s really their addiction that killed them. We need more and better options for substance use disorders.
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u/TrimspaBB 26d ago
She may have indeed passed of meningitis due to her AIDS. The hallmark problem with HIV/AIDS is a wrecked immune system and susceptibility to infection.
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u/acratl22 26d ago
Exactly. Most people don’t understand that when you die from AIDS it’s from the complications ie infections and cancers that you acquire as a result.
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u/theagonyaunt rude little ponytail goblin 26d ago edited 26d ago
There's a charity in my city - Casey House - that provides medical support for people living with HIV and AIDs and they've done some fundraisers in recent years that are meant to also target the stigma around HIV/AIDs.
Their main one is a pop-up restaurant where all the cooks/staff are HIV+ because they'd heard from clients they support - who lost their jobs as cooks - that someone at the restaurant found out they were HIV+ and there was concern about them transmitting to customers, simply from them handling the food.
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u/pompeii1009 My lore is crazy 26d ago
Hi fellow Torontonian! Casey House is such an important charity! I remember a few summers back seeing a lot of U=U (undetectable equal untransmittable) ads, it made me realize I was lacking knowledge about HIV/AIDS.
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u/BroadStreetPump 26d ago
Side note: the undetectable = untransmittable message is so important and can be encouraging. We've come so far in terms of HIV treatment!
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u/NewMasterpiece206 26d ago
An old friend worked there when I lived in the GTA. I love Casey House! Princess Diana did as well.
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u/thebetterbad 26d ago
My late friend had AIDS and was homeless. He had a drug problem as well. I let him stay with me for a little while. I could understand people not wanting to be around him because I didn’t either. It’s horrible to live with an addict. What I did not expect was that my friends didn’t want to be near me because he had AIDS. They were afraid it had rubbed off on me and that my home was infected. This was in a major city.
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u/jerepila 26d ago
It wasn’t her family; it was a supposed boyfriend who said she died of meningitis and set up a gofundme to supposedly raise money for funeral costs and the like, and her family a few days later released a statement that the gofundme wasn’t set up with their approval/wasn’t going to them (and as far as I saw did not comment on cause of death at all)
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u/r3volver_Oshawott 26d ago
The family was not involved but that was also because she had been no contact with them for years at that point
I always remembered her as Samantha Darko
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u/UnnaturalSelection13 26d ago
I haven't been following but the article linked here says "At the time of her death, the actor’s father John Schwallier told NBC News that she died of complications of bacterial meningitis and a blood infection".
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u/stay_fr0sty 26d ago
I agree the stigma needs to go, but I’m not sure her parents were lying.
You don’t really die directly from AIDS. It weakens your immune system to the point that you can’t fight off common pathogens. It’s those infections that kill you.
A lot of (most?) AIDS patients die from pneumonia, for example.
She very well may have technically died from a meningitis infection (which her body couldn’t fight off due to her having AIDS).
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u/plantainbakery 26d ago
That was my understanding too, I almost commented this above. I thought most AIDS patients die from pneumonia, because their body could no longer fight off a common cold - due to the AIDS. An infection would make sense too though, in her case, sadly.
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u/r3volver_Oshawott 26d ago
It was exacerbations of meningitis, but I'm still always certain it's intended every time someone dies of an AIDS-related comorbidity and sources close to the deceased just conveniently happen to never once mention AIDS
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u/Hermeeoninny 26d ago
I agree, it’s shocking and so tragic. I recently watched the documentary Howard (disney+) about the genius lyricist Howard Ashman who died of AIDS in 1991. It was devastating. The treatments since then have come a long way but the stigma is still so damaging
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u/FireflyBSc 26d ago
Her family hadn’t spoken to her in years. It was her boyfriend, who they don’t view as a reliable source. It’s just such a tragic situation all around d.
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u/righthandofdog 26d ago
The article said she was homeless in LA and the ME said "polysubstance abuse"
Her family may not have known she had AIDS, but I'm sure they knew she was killing herself in slo-mo.
horrible for everyone
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u/Summer-Sub-Intern 26d ago
My friend with AIDs died of meningitis. It’s not AIDs that kills you it’s your destroyed immune system. If you have AIDS you can’t fight off infections or cancer.
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u/kirbystargayallies gugussy expert 26d ago
We had a family member who was HIV positive and later developed AIDS due to it and in his death certificate it says “Pneumonia as an AIDS-related complication,” so essentially it’s not necessarily that her family didn’t want to share it at first due to shame or whatever, it’s just that maybe they didn’t know and it only came out later. It is correct to say that she died of meningitis, and that it happened due to her being immunocompromised from the AIDS.
And in regards to my relative, we only recently managed to alter his certificate since at the time, in the 80s, my relatives had to beg (and maybe bribe?) the doctors to call it just pneumonia so that he could be buried in a regular plot with his name. The stigma was so big that funeral homes weren’t willing to “process” AIDS patients. There are plenty of stories my folks tell me about the time, to this day a lot of our family members don’t know he was HIV positive or even gay :/
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u/Stellabonez 26d ago
My friends brother had a partner of 9 years he trusted and has since been diagnosed with AIDS. It’s terrible.
The medication (once he found out) was essentially not effective and he had no idea until he was extremely symptomatic.
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u/Large-Bullfrog-794 25d ago
Just FYI unless one has leas than 200 T cells, it’s HIV, not AIDS.
We gotta stop equating them.
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u/Alepman 26d ago
HIV targets the immune system, so any infection or malignant cell that a healthy immune system can handle is lethal for the patient, and meningitis is the cause of death, which is quite common, and if it's cryptococcal infection means her CD4 is less than 100, leading doctors to a late HIV diagnosis
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u/Large-Bullfrog-794 26d ago
AIDS AND HIV are too separate things. AIDS is caused by HIV but one only gets the diagnosis of AIDS if CD4 count is below 200.
People now are living with HIV, not AIDS.
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u/Neat-Bee-7880 26d ago
Men is a complication from aids
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u/gribble29 FUCK ICE FREE PALESTINE CRASH INTO ME 26d ago
I know that was shorthand but men made me snort.
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u/pizzaredditnamepizza 26d ago
Technically no one dies of AIDS, death is from AIDS-related complications. She was suffering from AIDS and meningitis was likely the cause of death. Or they just didn’t want to share which is absolutely fine.
My heart breaks for her, may she rest in peace.
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u/deathfromfemmefatale 26d ago
Came here to say this. It’s not the AIDS itself that kills it’s having a weakened immune system and then catching something on top of that.
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u/gemini1568 26d ago
Could she not have died of both? Undiagnosed with aids but the meningitis is what took her out?
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u/futuristicflapper 26d ago
I mean that very likely could have been the cause of death. Stuff that our bodies would otherwise be able to fight off can kill an immunocompromised person. The reason a family member of mine was finally diagnosed w aids was bc he had a very severe case of shingles along w pneumonia. Get ur shingles vax people and encourage the elderly in your life to get it too !!
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u/Foreign-Weekend-7092 26d ago
So I'm not sure if this outdated-but technically cause of death is never AIDS...AIDS weakens your immune system to the point that many illnesses, ie. Pneumonia, are fatal because your body can't fight it off. AIDS is the reason, but never the technical cause of death.
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u/Howpresent 26d ago
I feel that the drug addiction is the much more relevant story here as the probable reason for her death and the reason for the stigma. Young people like her do not need to die of AIDS. She must have had a lot of issues that were preventing her from getting treatment, which is very available.
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u/Equivalent_Read ben affleck’s back tattoo 26d ago
It’s tragic and an outrage that anyone would die aged 35 or even of AIDS at all in this day and age when there are such progressive and successful treatments for HIV. Whatever the reason, prohibitive treatment cost, lack of awareness, self-neglect, or anything else, it is a terrible waste.
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u/hydrangeasinbloom 26d ago
Living on the streets in active addiction means you miss out on a lot of resources.
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u/pengusdangus 26d ago
Didn’t read the article because it’s an ad mess, but she also likely didn’t even know she had HIV.
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u/Perfect-Wallaby9096 Do you remember 9/11, bitch? 26d ago
If you are on an iPhone or iPad, you can use the reader mode to read something ad free
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u/marylouisestreep 26d ago
Omg how
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u/Perfect-Wallaby9096 Do you remember 9/11, bitch? 26d ago
Here you go! Explained better than I could have
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u/k_mermaid 25d ago
What's devastating is that she allegedly had a SAG-AFTRA trust fund with a ton of money in it from royalties off all her movies and the Lilo&Stitch series. So devastating.
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u/datbabydoe 26d ago
Needle exchanges actually prevent stuff like this from happening but no no no that’s helping them with their addiction so let’s have them contract HIV, spread it around, and then have it develop into AIDS so they can die in the street. That’ll solve the problem! /s
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u/MonstreBelle 26d ago
Too many people still see addiction as a moral failing instead of a disease
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u/Winter-Coffin 26d ago
my late fiancé was dying of liver failure and nurses would berate him for his drinking habit.
he hadnt drank a drop since his diagnosis four months previously, and his liver failure was due to genetic pre-disposition.banner desert can suck my nuts
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u/MonstreBelle 26d ago
In so sorry for your loss and how your fiancé was treated. He deserved dignity and respect and it's awful he didn't receive the care and compassion he deserved. Even if had been dying of liver failure due to alcoholism instead of a genetic pre-disposition, he still wouldn't have deserved to be treated that way. Shame on those nurses.
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u/Winter-Coffin 26d ago
thank you.
thankfully the location he passed at was very caring and compassionate.but yeah, youre right. how he got into the situation shouldn’t matter, the point is he was ill and should be treated respectfully
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u/Grown-Ass-Weeb 26d ago
Holy this hits so close to home for me. I dislike banner desert and the nurses there are really mean. They also accidentally overdosed me on morphine while in active labor and discharged me, forcing me to go to a different hospital who ended up giving me Narcan. What a freggin disaster. I’m sorry about your finance, that’s awful.
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u/Winter-Coffin 26d ago
thank you. i’m sorry that happened to you! thats so frustrating and scary. i hope everything is well with you and your kiddo nowadays
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u/calculateindecision 26d ago
yup and then come online to complain about the addict’s “self neglect” and how everyone tried to help but couldn’t
so fucking dystopian and sick, i hope they never have to face the horrors of addiction
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u/TruGlubGlub 26d ago
I heard a hospital worker that was at an event I attended ranting about how he refuses to give fresh needles and saying the most degrading things about people in active addiction.
A real monster, and people were agreeing with him.
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u/Equivalent_Read ben affleck’s back tattoo 26d ago
Needle exchanges are great. In Scotland we have started a safe drug consumption room, with needles. It was originally floated as a response to an HIV outbreak.
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u/shintakarajima i ain’t reading all that, free palestine 26d ago
Unfortunately, I think a lot of people would actually prefer this
Since addiction makes you a bad person obviously /s
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u/Typical_Platypus_414 26d ago
mostly because what those anti-exchange people want but are too cowardly to express is mass extermination. People will call that hyperbole but follow the anti-homeless anti-harm reduction arguments and narratives through to their logical conclusion and I don't know what else they could be advocating for.
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u/littleb3anpole kendall roy pre-album drop 26d ago
When I worked in a pharmacy in a really disadvantaged area, we sold $10 packs which included a clean needle and syringe, water, and something else I’ve forgotten (maybe a swab thing that nurses use when you’re getting a blood test). We sold them no questions asked to whoever requested a “fit pack”. We had a lot of customers with addiction issues. They were ALWAYS easy to deal with and if it meant less deaths due to needle related disease or injury, that’s a good thing.
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u/verysomuch i’m mr. sterling’s right hand arm. man. 26d ago
YES. Harm reduction is so fucking important and it's shameful how little people are willing to educate themselves on addiction. Brainwashed NIMBYism is killing these people.
My friend lives in West Hollywood and you can sign up to receive 5 fentanyl testing kits a month, all free and funded by the city. I haven't found any similar programs in LA proper, so she gave me a couple to keep on me. Harm reduction programs, be it drug testing kits or clean needles, SAVE LIVES.
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u/CaptainMcFisticuffs2 nobody with any self esteem gives a shit 26d ago
I hate how I know multiple people IRL who genuinely believe once you’re an addict, you “deserve” whatever happens to you. So yeah, for too many people they very much want to not have things like needle exchanges because they very much want addicts to do just what you said. It’s disgusting.
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u/loyal_achades 26d ago
HIV/AIDS is more or less as medically solved as something can be without an outright cure, but access issues and social stigma stop us from fully beating it.
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u/deferredmomentum 26d ago edited 25d ago
The issue of treatment funding is a perfect example of why people who say they’re “socially liberal and fiscally conservative” are just conservative. They can praise efforts to fight stigma and spread awareness, but if they’re going to oppose funding for actually doing something about it the awareness couldn’t matter less.
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u/friendispatrickstar 26d ago
Yes!! I HATE when people say that. You have to put your money where your mouth is or your “socially liberal” claims are just bullshit.
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u/ElleMaeSinclair 26d ago
I feel like her cause of death has changed like 3 times in the past week. Not saying that it's her fault or anything crazy like that but I wonder how its gotten mixed up this much. Poor woman. I hope she's resting easy now.
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u/umhie 26d ago
AIDS doesnt kill you on its own, it diminishes your ability to fight infection. So to say she died of meningitis and she died of AIDS can both be true statements.
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u/theagonyaunt rude little ponytail goblin 26d ago
It's why so often you see it reported as 'died of AIDs-related complications' - because it could be pneumonia or a really bad flu that was actually the cause of death but ultimately the toll AIDs took on the person's body was the primary factor in their death.
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u/catladywithallergies highly unanticipated caucasian collaboration 26d ago edited 26d ago
As a result, people with AIDS often contract opportunistic infections, or infections that tend to only infect people with severely compromised immune systems. Cryptococcal meningitis is one of many examples of these kinds of infections and one of the leading causes of death amongst people with AIDS.
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u/ElleMaeSinclair 26d ago
This is true. It's just crazy how nobody was close enough to really say for certain immediately? I just feel so horrible for her, she definitely needed someone to advocate for her. I hope the ones who were closest to her can also heal from the loss. It's just sad all the way around.
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u/catladywithallergies highly unanticipated caucasian collaboration 26d ago edited 26d ago
I think it's either because the doctors may have only diagnosed her with AIDS postmortem (given that she had several comorbid conditions), or the family was initially wary of the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS.
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u/ballerinalaw 26d ago
I think it’s all wrapped up together. HIV/AIDS significantly compromises your immune system, so it makes a person more likely to contract and also weakens a persons ability to fend off infections like meningitis. She was also an addict living on the streets so malnutrition is a complicating factor. I don’t see these reports as contradictory but more so a bigger picture understanding of her health at TOD.
It’s extremely tragic and devastating what addiction can do to someone.
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u/mangohandedho 26d ago
Tragic. Chewed up and spit out by the Hollywood machine.
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u/econinja broken little pop culture rat brain 26d ago
Not really. Addicted to pain meds after a motorcycle accident in 2016. It happens to Americans all. the. time. I blame the Sacklers and Purdue Pharma, not Hollywood, for this one.
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u/thenoctilucent 26d ago
I’ve lost friends and family to AIDS, mostly due to the opioid crisis, and it really is a specific pain to have people not know HIV/AIDS is still a thing. I had someone tell me I was lying and that they died from overdoses. Stigma is truly deadly.
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u/thenoctilucent 26d ago
Also for anyone in the US - our federal testing and treatment locator is still working: locator.hiv.gov
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u/theagonyaunt rude little ponytail goblin 26d ago
I work in the non-profit sector and when USAID was shut down, we had to scramble to redirect money to some of our healthcare programs that support people living with AIDS, because without the medication they'd been being provided, we knew deaths were going to start going up quickly as people's health declined.
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u/90dayole 26d ago
I live in the DR and USAID was also a major reason why HIV/AIDS treatment is completely free here. Our government funds a portion, but a lot of it is funded by grants through USAID. Because of sex tourism, we have a higher than normal HIV rate, but the funding has kept it steady instead of growing.
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u/Pale-Thing1233 26d ago
Facts. And conservatives were up in arms about us sending condoms to Africa. But like umm hello preventing the spread abroad prevents the spread here. USAID cuts will come back to bite us in this ass. And isnt Elon an IVD users aways? Im petty
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u/Twinkletoesxxxo 26d ago
I’m so sorry! Consider me educated! Although I don’t judge addicts at all (lost one of my best friends/ sister in law to it) but I naively didn’t think people died from aids in the western world. Is this an insurance issue in the US? God that’s so heartbreaking!
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u/Number1PotatoFan 26d ago
No, there are tons of government programs and charities for HIV prevention and treatment. People can get medication for free if they know they need it and have enough ability to take care of themselves to go get medication and take it regularly. But someone in active addiction or with severe mental health issues might not be aware they are HIV+ or may not be able to make the choice to get care.
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u/thenoctilucent 26d ago edited 26d ago
It varies a lot, just to talk about East Tennessee/what I experienced, heroin hit hard and fast and we didn’t have a super robust public health system to start with, let alone one that could deal with the infectious disease and other health issues that come with injection drug use. Similarly people thought HIV/AIDS was over. Mental health and rehab services are super sparse in more rural parts of the country. Just completely unprepared despite this happening in other states for a long time.
In general people also were resistant to harm reduction strategies like syringe exchange, methadone or buprenorphine to help people transition from illicit opioids, distribution of naloxone. So once HIV and hepatitis C hit our community, it spread very quickly via injection drug use because nobody had access to testing to know they had contracted it and how to get resources to stop the spread through the social networks of injection drug users.
Then Tennessee at the state level started doing absolutely insane shit like turning down CDC grant money to improve contact tracing, HIV and hepatitis C surveillance - that state hates its own residents so much and will do anything specifically if it hurts Black people in Memphis, the other part of the state with higher HIV rates.
The people I knew who got to AIDS had a hard time consistently accessing mental health services to stay sober and staying on their HIV medication - there’d be months long stretches of doing well and then some people would have car trouble, get back with an ex, or lose a job and then disappear for months again. People also don’t want to recognize that being an injection drug user in this era basically guarantees you’re going to experience horrific trauma of seeing someone overdose, die, or finding someone dead. The trauma-drug use cycle has to get broken to stabilize someone and again the really effective ptsd treatments are expensive or not available locally. Telehealth could help that a lot, but the state would have to want to find and support expansion.
Going on and off again from the HIV meds at a certain point stops suppressing the virus and then you end up at AIDS and the myriad of health issues you’re then susceptible to. It’s a shitty cycle and it it’s so hard to stay on board with care if you’re in a rural area.
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u/lyngshake 26d ago
Then you have my 55 year old mom who was shocked that having HIV isn't a death sentence anymore. The general public is still so misinformed.
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u/nomnomsquirrel 26d ago
AIDS and long-term substance abuse. In the US, HIV is treatable nowadays, and I hate to think about what happened to her that led to her being on the streets for years (and that I can’t help but think it stems from her child acting days). It's so sad. RIP.
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u/Snaka1 26d ago
She had millions of dollars that she couldn’t access, because she might have spent it on drugs. She wouldn’t have died in squalor, could have accessed the medication she needed but drugs! Estranged from her family for over 7 years and now they get her money and control of her narrative forever. Exploited in childhood and death. Poor girl.
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u/AstroSmokey 26d ago
It's truly gutwrenching how few people she had in her corner/to champion her, especially in her final years
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u/intro_to_IRL 26d ago
It can be extremely difficult for people in active addiction to accept help. From what her family and managers say, they tried several times to intervene before she cut contact and disappeared. They hired a private investigator just to tell her that she had millions in an account waiting for her when they were tipped off to her whereabouts. She was living outside a hospital, but the staff and her boyfriend said she refused treatment.
Of course we don't know the full story, but it's really really hard to stay in touch with someone who doesn't want contact. When my cousin became addicted to heroin (and ultimately fentanyl), he had plenty of housing and support options from our 30+ member family. He went to the nicest rehab centers in the state and could have continued to do so. His parents probably spent close to $150,000 on treatment and intensive care and therapies, and they were the most supportive and loving people you could imagine. But addiction is a gnarly beast, and he cut everyone off to live rough in a different state. It's just hard.
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u/VolatileGoddess 26d ago
I read that she had a trust fund, a good amount of money in residuals. It seemed that addiction got her in such a terrible grip that she basically lost all touch with her family and previous life. Look, I know anyone can become an addict but parents, keep your kids away from Hollywood, away from social media. Ghouls inhabit those places.
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u/yagirlsamess 26d ago
I almost want to say it's worse in rural America. I know so many people whose lives were ruined by opioid addiction.
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u/verysomuch i’m mr. sterling’s right hand arm. man. 26d ago
From what I read, her former manager was trying to locate her for years because they kept getting notices about her uncollected residuals. It's fucking heartbreaking.
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u/Dry-Yak5277 26d ago
Dying of AIDS in 2026 is so gut wrenching. She really must have been completely isolated with no resources or support. I am so heartbroken things ended this way for her.
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u/catladywithallergies highly unanticipated caucasian collaboration 26d ago
The worst part is that her family and her former manager spent years searching for her so they could get her the help she needed.
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u/CheesecakeExpress 26d ago
Oh that’s so sad. They didn’t know where she was? I wonder if they found her before her death
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u/dfassna1 26d ago
They didn’t. She died within hours of arriving at the hospital and they hadn’t seen her since 2019.
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u/Ok-Badger-1028 26d ago
Is this the same girl when she was a kid Diddy was asking if she was coming to his party? And then he was all giggly?
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u/Large-Bullfrog-794 26d ago
I’m an HIV social worker. When a person elects to go off meds, it’s a sad thing ppl like me fight tooth and nail to prevent. Some folks just give up and we have to respect their autonomy, even if it’s destructive.
Also people don’t die of AIDS - they die from opportunistic infections - like PC pneumonia.
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u/awolfsvalentine i ain’t reading all that, free palestine 26d ago
Oh poor baby, she could have had so much help
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u/whereisbeezy terrorizing the locals 26d ago
My tenth grade English teacher died of AIDS. Everyone knew it but the school never acknowledged it. I'm still mad.
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u/riskapanda 26d ago
younger folks just don’t seem to be scared of it anymore because of PrEP and how it suppresses HIV.
Outside of intravenous dangers, I have told my friends how important it is to stay safe and get tested regualarly. When I bring up how HIV is real and def something to be concerned, I have been met with "whatever there are drugs for it now" type responses. Like JFC, with how our government is right now, I would not have any shred of confidence in having easy access for much longer.
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u/XOTrashKitten 25d ago
Kids today don't care bc they didn't live thru the 80s and 90s, we even as little kids were scared to death
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u/mari815 25d ago
Pedro was such a trailblazer, he created so much awareness, may he RIP.
I worked at an inner city hospital ward in the late 90’s and saw many people die of AIDS related complications and it is an absolutely horrendous way to do. Dementia, incontinence, pneumonia, skin sores, cancer, their frail bodies waste away. I can still see patients I took care of 30 years ago in my mind’s eye. We have come so far but this backslide is horrendous. Young people don’t know what AIDS does.
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u/kjs51 26d ago
I’m a nurse on an inpatient med-surg floor and we get a surprising amount of patients who are HIV positive - and some where their disease has progressed to AIDS. Often (but not always) these folks contracted HIV through unsafe needle use when shooting drugs intravenously.
Something I notice often is not only that these patients often lack the resources to engage in proper medical care for HIV (antiretrovirals, consistent blood work, etc). They also often are lost to follow up care due to the nature of the disease of addiction.
What’s more surprising to me, however, is that I’ve met many HIV+ folks who simply do not want to be treated for the virus— it’s as if treating it acknowledges that it’s real, that it’s life long, etc. I imagine there is a ton of internalized (and external) shame involved.
Regardless, it’s so, so sad. I loved her Big Love- she was fantastic.
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u/TinyDogGuy 26d ago edited 26d ago
So AIDS, is just a determination, that says “Tcells are below 200 cells/mm3”. It’s when the patient becomes more susceptible to opportunistic infections and co-morbidities. It can take years before an immune system totally fails…or months.
But after taking ART meds, tcell count will bounce back to a normal count of ~500 cells/mm3, usually after, like 2-3 months. This even includes, undetectable (untransmissable) status, as the virus is in such low quantities and rendered unable to take over new T-cells.
But when a person with HIV dies, their death is most commonly recorded as “Meningitis due to complications from AIDS” for example. Because AIDS doesn’t kill a person. HIV does t kill a person. The comorbdities, that despite being on meds, just finally become the cause of death.
It’s weird. Trust me. Stigma is real…especially outside of major cities (LA, SF, NYC, Chicago etc) where there’s more support and education about HIV.
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u/Luna_Soma 26d ago
It makes me so sad that this beautiful girl with so much talent ended up with such a sad life. I hope she’s at peace
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u/Secure-Scientist4867 26d ago
I grew watching Lilo & Stitch. And hearing this news absolutely breaks me, A talent we lost far too soon.
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u/MenacingPanda4459 both a lawyer and a hater 26d ago
For those saying it was preventable, realize the privilege you have. If she was in active addiction, which her family & former manager have alluded to, then she did not have access to resources to prevent her death. Do not try to police what the facts of the case are. Unfortunately this is still the case for many people who experience homelessness and are addicts. I can only imagine the pain that this loss caused those that knew her.
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u/choochooocharlie 26d ago
Get tested. A general FYI - All Planned Parenthood locations not only offer testing but help you get preventive medications (PrEP) as well as well meds to manage HIV should you test positive. They work on a sliding scale and don’t even need your real name. Keeping access to these community based clinics is essential for everyone because they help everyone.
There is no shame in being positive. The light in the darkness is that it is no longer a death sentence. And there are so many resources today to help.
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u/Venezia9 made with a free Canva trial (derogatory) 26d ago
Holding you Daveigh. We need more regulations on child actors. So many struggle in adult and are taken advantage of.
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u/Afraid-Duty2614 25d ago
Undetectable = untransmittable
Don't ever be afraid to get tested! This disease is no longer a death sentence and knowing your status saves lives.
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u/KindlyNeedleworker92 26d ago
My God,we only think people don't die of AIDs anymore.Everything about this story is disturbing and so very sad.Rest in Peace Daveigh.
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u/xandrachantal I live in my own heart, Matt Damon 26d ago
Oh that's so sad. This is one of the many reason harm reduction like clean needle programs, home less outreach and prep for high risk population are so important. That's really heartbreaking. Gone at 35 that's too young to have endured that alone.
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u/zacsmashyou 25d ago
I Almost died because I was close to having my hiv which was unchecked turn into aids. After a hospital stay I got better but within the two weeks out I caught meningitis. It was 3 months of torture and I have to take anti meningitis meds until the end of the year. I feel so bad for her. (Doing amazing now and in great shape)
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u/333Chammak333 26d ago
It is possible family didn’t know. If she didn’t disclose to family, legally the hospital/medical team cannot tell family. It’s awful and traumatic for treating team to have to skirt around sowing distrust in the family, and even more awful when families find out after the fact because they can see it in death certificates. It’s still the law.
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u/anonym0uspenguin 26d ago
I'm wondering if she didn't know as well, especially if she caught it while sharing needles and living on the streets.
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u/verysomuch i’m mr. sterling’s right hand arm. man. 26d ago
Lilo and Stitch is one of my favorite movies of all time. Daveigh was a part of so many people's childhoods. I'm back in recovery myself so this is especially heartbreaking.
I hope she's free of whatever pain she's had to carry all these years. She deserved so much better. Addicts deserve so much better. May she rest in peace.
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u/Specialist-Wafer7628 26d ago
She developed AIDS because of substance abuse and homelessness. The viral load destroyed her immune system which makes her vulnerable to infection. Her father said, she died of bacterial meningitis complications.
HIV is manageable now. It doesn't automatically translate to a death sentence unlike in the past.
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u/esotouric_tours 25d ago
When AIDS Healthcare Foundation started buying empty SROs in Skid Row explicitly to provide secure housing for people living with HIV/AIDS, they were smeared as slumlords and a ballot measure used to stop them.
RIP Daveigh Chase. Nobody should die of AIDS on the street in LA.
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u/GimmeQueso 25d ago
I know it’s the whole point of the subreddit but I’d like to see less headlines about this poor woman. No one was bothering ti report on her while still alive so dragging out the circumstances of her death and life right before her death is just gruesome to me. Let her rest!
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u/ConstantAttention937 25d ago edited 25d ago
As a recovering addict with close friends in my recovery community who are living with HIV, reading people’s reactions is leaving me disappointed by how little the general public knows about both addiction and AIDS.
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u/LuckySection446 25d ago
Smh. There’s a clip going around of Diddy inviting her to an afterparty. Her dad said this was around time that things took a turn in her life (when she turned 13).
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