14 November 2005 Daily Mirror
'MIRACLE' OF MAN WHO BEAT HIV
By Aidan Mcgurran And Ron Moore
MEDICAL miracle Andrew Stimpson yesterday vowed to do
"everything in my power" to give hope to millions of Aids sufferers.
The 25-year-old sandwich maker, thought to be the first person
in the world to be cured of HIV, said he felt "blessed".
At first he thought he must have never had the virus. He tried
to sue his health authority saying his tests results must be wrong.
But now he is overjoyed to be free of the nightmare that haunted
him for 18 months.
And his hospital trust wants him back so it can find out why he
is clear of the virus.
Andrew said: "I know what I have to do. I realise that something
extraordinary has happened to me. Maybe I hold the key to finding a cure.
"I had the initial shock of discovering I was HIV positive then
a huge wave of relief when I was told I was clear.
"After all that sunk in I then began to realise that I had a
responsibility to the world. It is a weird feeling to think that there is
something in me which brings hope to millions of other people.
"I will do everything in my power to help with research into
finding a cure. It is a huge responsibility."
Jubilant Andrew added: "I'm not a religious person but I feel
completely blessed.
"It's so amazing to think that one day I was staring death in
the face and now I am waving it goodbye. I feel special and lucky."
Andrew, openly gay since he was 15, learned he had the virus
just weeks after his 22nd birthday. A condom split while he was sleeping with
his HIV-positive boyfriend Juan Gomez, 44, in April 2002.
Although he was tested, it was too early to know for certain
that he was infected.
But Andrew said: "I had a gut feeling that I had HIV. The virus
takes three months to show up in blood tests and I knew I had it even though the
results said otherwise."
More tests in August showed that he was HIV-positive. He said:
"When the doctor told me it switched from a belief into reality. Suddenly it was
there on the table.
"It didn't seem right to be dying of an illness because I never
get sick, never catch the flu and never get a cold.
"My lifelong dream is to be an air steward and in a flash that
was over because they don't employ people with HIV."
Andrew, originally from Largs, Ayrshire, but who now lives in
London, recalls: "My energy for life was lost completely, as if someone had
snatched my life away."
He felt alone, unable to confide in anyone except Juan and
sister Louise, 20, who works in a call centre in Erskine, near Glasgow.
He could not bring himself to tell his mum Kathy fearing she
would not cope. "It was so sad not to be able to tell anyone but I didn't want
to be judged or upset people.
"Whenever I visited mum I put on a brave face but it was like
she knew. She would say 'If you had HIV, you would tell me wouldn't you?' I felt
like I was living a lie."
Andrew even planned the end. He said: "I began researching
online the euthanasia company Dignitas and planned how I would die just before I
became very ill.
"I didn't want to die in a hospital with tubes sticking out of
me so I told Juan I wanted to organise my death, peacefully."
Even knowing there was no cure, he took a daily cocktail of
supplements to stay healthy. Andrew said: "I believed there must be a cure out
there. If you think about the Amazon and how many plant species they've not
discovered. I was praying for a miracle."
Then a year later the miracle happened. Every two months he had
blood tests, liver and heart checks and his
immune system was
monitored. Then in October 2003, his HIV test was repeated and came back
negative.
Andrew said: "It was the last thing I expected. My doctor came
into the room saying 'You've cured yourself.' He said, 'This is unbelievable,
you're fantastic!'
"But I was baffled because I couldn't understand how anyone
could cure themselves of HIV. I'd read the research, I knew it had never
happened before.
"I didn't understand how I could be negative after one year
especially because I had been having unprotected sex with my partner believing
we had nothing to lose.
"My
immune system managed to fight
off HIV even though I was in regular contact with it. It's crazy."
Andrew was convinced there had been a mistake and got the
Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust to repeat his test twice. Again the
results were negative.
He said: "I thought the first test had to be wrong because no
one can recover from HIV. I'm still in total disbelief.
"I think has this all been some dream - or some nightmare. My
life's gone from one extreme to the other and now it's final - I don't have HIV
and it won't come back."
Andrew's legal action against the trust did not get anywhere
because an investigation proved all the tests were his.
He received a letter from officials which confirmed he was HIV
free which was "exceptional and medically remarkable".
It went on: "Essentially, whilst the circumstances of your
positive then negative HIV antibody tests are quite remarkable, there can be no
finding of negligence against the trust, and in the circumstances, we are unable
to offer compensation to you.
Yesterday Caroline Lord, spokeswoman for the trust, said: "We
can categorically state that his first test proved positive and then further
tests proved negative. The tests were accurate. It was not a mistake.
"He had HIV and now he hasn't. It is obviously wonderful news
for him. But what we do not know is whether he actually cured himself, as has
been reported.
"We have offered him further tests to help us investigate and
find out why this happened but he hasn't been in."
Andrew is likely to offer his body to medical research in a bid
to find a cure for the 34.9million HIV sufferers worldwide.
He said: "I wonder if it's a complete fluke, a mutated gene in
my body, but I can't deny that I haven't wondered if my body has the cure for
HIV."
Medical experts are baffled. Specialist Dr Andrew Kinghorn said:
"The secret seems to live in the strength of his
immune system. What
makes him different is tests show he has no virus in his blood and his
immune system has
stopped making antibodies.
"If we can better understand what happened inside Andrew's body
it could prove to be a step towards a breakthrough in beating HIV."
Dr Patrick Dixon, of Aids group Acet, said:
"If it's true, it
means that his
immune system
has discovered a weakness in
HIV which holds the key to destroying it."
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