The Advocate

ABOUT REAL BRUINS Every other Thursday, the
Daily Bruin takes a look at members of the UCLA community. In this
continuing series, we highlight the many different activities
Bruins are involved in.

By William D. Braxdale
Daily Bruin Contributor

Lisa Croydon, patient advocate at the UCLA Center for Clinical
AIDS Research and Education, considers herself a Bruin through and
through, having been born and attended college at UCLA.

Now working on campus, Croydon, herself an HIV patient, wants
people to realize that HIV/AIDS can happen to anyone ““ and
that it is a health, not a moral issue.

“The right wing at the very beginning made this a moral
issue, which has put us behind in treatment and education,”
she said.

Photos by PATIL ARMENIAN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Lisa
Croydon, a patient advocate at the UCLA Center for
Clinical AIDS Research and Education, discusses her experience as
an HIV patient. After graduating from UCLA in 1986, Croydon began a
successful career in corporate sales and was making more money than
she thought possible for someone who was so young.

She got married after working a few years and was in the process
of building the home of her dreams, that would eventually include
the patter of little feet.

Everything in her life was going according to a plan she made as
to where she wanted to be at that particular point in her life.

“I was on schedule,” Croydon said. “Everything
was happening the way I planned it.”

But all that changed when her doctor recommended that all of his
new patients take an HIV test, because of an increase in new cases
within the heterosexual community. Her results came out
positive.

At the time, people rarely talked about the need for women to
take precautions against AIDS, because the illness was considered a
“gay” or “IV drug user” disease.

“That was just a huge shock,” Croydon said.
“No one was talking about women and HIV.”

Like many people who have the virus, Croydon contracted HIV by
having unprotected sex with her then-boyfriend.

Having HIV meant repercussions; losing the things she had worked
so hard to achieve because of sickness resulting from the
virus.

In 1996, Croydon became gravely ill. She said she was fortunate
that she did not take the advice of her doctor by starting
mono-therapy treatment of AZT, even though her T-cells were within
normal levels.

  Croydon and social worker Danny
Phillips often collaborate on cases, discussing the best
ways to help patients at the Center.

According to Croydon, she probably would have built up
resistance to the drug and it would not have been as effective when
she began triple-therapy.

In addition to the physical illness and difficulties, Croydon
had to deal with hostility from some members of the community, who
failed to understand what having HIV means.

In certain instances, the health care workers have been
insensitive to her HIV status, Croydon said.

“A phlebotomist had the nerve to ask me how I got
infected,” Croydon said.

She added that she has had to tell people literally that it was
none of their business when they asked her questions.

When Croydon was sick and using a disabled placard, some people
would approach her and say, “What’s the matter with
you? You don’t look handicapped.”

Despite the drawbacks the virus has caused, Croydon has kept a
positive attitude and this has helped her in her job as a patient
advocate.

In her work as a patient advocate, Croydon said her own
experience helps her serve as a role model for those infected with
HIV, often giving them support.

“With patients newly diagnosed there’s always the
huge and understandable fear that “˜Oh my god I’m going
to die,'” Croydon said.

She wants people to understand that with today’s
treatments they can continue to live healthy, productive lives.

Strong support from family and friends helped Croydon to get
through the worst times. She is especially grateful to Shana
Doronn, a former social worker at the CARE center, who encouraged
Croydon to become involved in a peer support group.

Doronn said the fact that Croydon talks about her experience
living with HIV has inspired others who have the virus to cope.

“She’s true to her word,” Doronn said.
“She’s one of the most inspirational persons I
know.”

The other part of her job involves being informed on all the
clinical trials being offered at UCLA. She must know the purpose of
each trial and what drugs are involved in order to help patients
choose whether they want to participate.

Despite advances made in HIV/AIDS therapy, Croydon warned that
people should avoid becoming complacent about the situation,
because a cure for the illness does not exist.

Additionally, the existing treatments cause extreme side effects
and may not work for everyone, Croydon said. For four years
straight, she threw up every morning because of her medication
routine.

Currently, Croydon takes four types of medication with food,
none of which cause her to throw up in the morning.

Living with HIV means being vigilant against becoming sick, she
said.

“I could never relax about my health care,” Croydon
said. “I could never take for granted that I’ll be
fine.”

Staying free of illness means avoiding anyone who has a cold,
which has prevented her from visiting her sister’s
children.

Additionally, she makes it a point to go to the gym twice a
week, and knows when to put her health ahead of life’s
demands.

Though she enjoys her work, one of the ways she maintains
balance in her life is by not bringing her job home with her.
Croydon said she has taught herself to be a self-advocate, which
she tries to pass on to the patients she sees.

Despite the widespread advertisements on HIV/AIDS prevention,
Croydon said some people still remain ignorant of the various modes
of transmission and characteristics of the illnesses.

“People do not know that you can’t get it from
sharing an ice cream cone or the same utensils,” she
said.

Other harmful publicity on HIV/AIDS topics comes from
researchers themselves, Croydon said. People like Dr. Peter
Duesberg, professor of molecular and cell biology at UC Berkeley,
has advocated that the virus does not cause AIDS ““ a claim
Croydon finds very damaging because the facts upon which it is
based are very shaky.

“I really disagree with his position, from a personal and
scientific standpoint,” Croydon said.

When involved in caring for HIV patients, she said everyone has
a role to fulfill.

“I really believe that each and every one of us has a
responsibility to each other,” she said.

Jeff Fricke, program director for education and outreach at the
CARE center, admires her not only for the work she performs, but
also for her perseverance. Recently, Croydon entered the corporate
world again for the first time since her diagnosis.

“Lisa has overcome many obstacles,” he said.
“She is not just a survivor, but someone who has overcome
medical, personal, vocational problems.”