Unexpectedly, contracting HIV became a positive event in David Rodriguez’s life. The former drug abuser changed his lifestyle dramatically, worked to become a better and more devoted husband and father and volunteered as a guest speaker for scores of educational programs about HIV and AIDS.
Mr. Rodriguez, 45, died Friday of liver disease in the Chicago House/Horizon Hospice in Chicago. Family members were not sure what role his HIV status played in his death.
With his wife, Vera, who was diagnosed with HIV on the same day seven years ago, Mr. Rodriguez spoke at local and national conferences, including the National Youth Conference on AIDS. He trained volunteers for the AIDS Pastoral Care Network and participated in the parent advisory group for the Children’s Place, a social service agency.
Last year, David and Vera Rodriguez participated in a film produced by the AIDS Walk Committee, and were among the key speakers after the annual AIDS Walk on the city’s lakefront. Mr. Rodriguez also volunteered to be interviewed for local television programs.
Vera Rodriguez said she is proud of what her husband had accomplished in the seven years since he was diagnosed. At the time, he had just entered a substance-abuse recovery program.
“This changed his whole life, absolutely for the better,” his wife said. “He said right away, `I’m a fighter and I’m going to beat this.’ And I believe he did beat it because he changed people’s attitudes.”
When the couple first became involved in education programs, “there were still people who believed you could get it from things like silverware and toilet seats,” Vera Rodriguez said.
The couple hoped to share information they had lacked about how to stay healthy and safe from HIV infection. Their speeches were a powerful tool, said Dan Lunney, coordinator of volunteer services for the AIDS Pastoral Care Network, an interfaith group that provides spiritual support for people with HIV and AIDS.
“They tended to dispel the myth that a lot of people still have that this doesn’t happen to families and this doesn’t happen to heterosexual men and women,” Lunney said.
Mr. Rodriguez was especially interested in working with youth groups. He wanted to urge other teens not to make the same mistakes he made–getting involved in gangs and taking drugs.
“It was pretty incredible to see them out there,” Lunney said. “They could have just decided to say, `We have HIV and so what about everyone else.’ But they chose instead to use their situation to help to better others’ lives.”
Mr. Rodriguez, a native of Chicago, was a landscaper and laborer. A resident of East Ravenswood, he grew up on the city’s South Side.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by three sons, William, Gerardo and Anthony; a daughter, Natalie; his parents, Juan and Mary Rodriguez; and a granddaughter.
A funeral mass will be said Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Queen of Angels Church, 2330 W. Sunnyside Ave., Chicago.
