By DARLENE PRINCE
prince@crescent-news.com
PAULDING -- Cochise Cooper of Paulding is trying very hard to make amends for his misspent youth.
Afflicted with full-blown AIDS, Cooper, 38, is spending his last days on earth talking to young people at local high schools and warning them of the consequences of promiscuous and unprotected sex.
Cooper is now a family man married to Tammy. He has two children from a previous marriage and a young daughter with Tammy, who has four children of her own.
Recalling his days as a youth, Cooper notes his ignorance about HIV/AIDS and the price he is paying for that ignorance.
"I was born and raised in Sherwood," he said. "When I was young in northwest Ohio, the message we got was if you were not gay and did not trade needles (in drug use), you would not get AIDS.
"When I was young, I did a lot of drugs and drinking," he continued. "I was supplying cocaine to prostitution rings and traded drugs for sex."
Cooper said he contracted the HIV virus, which later turned into AIDS, from having unprotected sex.
And when he went to jail for a drunken-driving conviction, he heard people say he was hopeless. At that point, Cooper said he decided to turn his life around.
"I met Tammy and we thought everything would be all right," he said.
He was working long hours at a job when he came down with a fever. "I didn"t think too much about it. As a matter of fact, the kids had brought a nasty bug home from school and I was the only one in the family that did not get it.
"I got sick toward the end of January, beginning of February in 5," he said. "I went into the ER on Valentine"s Day."
Cooper noted he had lost 63 pounds in two weeks and ended up in the hospital emergency room where the doctor had worked at a large-city ER. The doctor had previously seen AIDS cases and thought Cooper might have HIV or AIDS.
"He had me take a test and it turned out I was positive for full-blown AIDS," he said.
Cooper was in and out of hospitals for three months. He said doctors told him he would never walk again and even not be able to take care of himself.
"On the third week of May, something spiritual happened," he said. "I woke up and was able to sit up. On June 1, I walked into the doctor"s office using a cane, on my own. I wish you could have seen that doctor"s face," he said with a chuckle.
Cooper said his AIDS virus has mutated and is resistant to medication. Only one of his medicines works for him.
"It will be around Christmas time before any new AIDS drugs come out," he said.
"The AIDS virus has burned into my brain and my spinal column," he continued. "I talk slowly and I get confused easily. It made my muscle tissue deteriorate and leaves my body through extreme diarrhea and through sweat." He said he is finally getting some muscle tissue back.
One of his goals now is to inform young people about the dangers of unprotected sex. He has presented his program on a Lima television station and was interviewed by an area newspaper. He said he wants to concentrate on Defiance County this year.
"I did two speeches at the Opportunity school (Opportunity Center) in Defiance," he said, after which students were surveyed.
"I was really struck by the results at the (Opportunity Center)," he said. "About 90 percent of the 15- to 16-year-olds thought they should be tested for HIV."
Cooper said he and other people who have HIV or AIDS are working on a program that could be used in a school curriculum. He also has spoken to Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and would like to meet him again later to discuss his plan.
During his program, he said, "We tell the truth. We tell them that unprotected sex can give you HIV. We want to open people"s eyes about sexual health."
He is working with Women & Family Services in Defiance. Because he has received free HIV test kits from the Ohio Department of Health, he would like to set up a program to promote free HIV testing in Defiance County. Cooper also hopes area hospitals will set aside one room on a regular basis where people could go and take an HIV test.
He is also promoting the use of the HPV vaccine (that prevents cervical cancer) in young women.
Cooper plans to give out printed information about HIV while manning a booth at the Northtowne Mall on May 18.
He and his wife have set up a collection point in their garage for people who wish to donate gently used clothing, toiletry and personal items and food for persons with AIDS.
"Sometimes, people with AIDS don"t have much but their food stamps," Tammy said. "We thought this collection might help."
"There are 21 cases of HIV in Defiance County, there are 11 cases in Paulding County," Cooper said. "Worldwide, there are 40 million people with HIV," and he believes it will only get worse over time.
He said that any schools, public organizations, churches or businesses which would like to schedule his free presentation may call 419-399-2741. He brings a licensed social worker with him to each presentation.
"A community can make a difference," he said. "We want Ohio to be the model state where HIV testing is done before AIDS develops."
To contact the Coopers, go online at www.aids2hiv.com. Their e-mail address is aids2hiv@hotmail.com.
Free and confidential HIV tests are offered at Women & Family Services. For more information about AIDS and HIV or the free tests, call Women & Family Services at 419-782-4906.