Charlie Sheen Vows To Help Cure HIV, Wishes He Came Forward Sooner
Actor Charlie Sheen, who went public with his positive HIV status last month, vows to do his best to help find a cure for the disease. The actor also admits that he wished he’d came forward sooner regarding his health.
FOX 411 reports Sheen sat down last week with National Enquirer, the tabloid first responsible for divulging his HIV positive status, and revealed that he wished he’d came forward sooner with the news himself, which could have helped remove the burden from his shoulders much sooner.
“It was such a tremendous weight lifted off my shoulders when I made the announcement. I realized afterward, I wish I had possibly done it sooner.”
“It was shortly afterward — I think it was the second day — I said to my mom, ‘This disease picked the wrong guy.’ If anybody can fight this thing and discover a cure, it’s me. I will exhaust every resource available to me. I will sit with every expert. I will move forward until something’s revealed.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that not only Sheen remaining positive, but he’s also committed to working with physicians to help improve his health, which he wants to use to educate and help others afflicted with HIV.
“I’m gonna continue to meet with the top experts in the field and continue to surround myself with bigger brains than mine. I am in a rare position to turn my diagnosis into a positive, and that began with telling my truth to Matt Lauer.”
One of the ways Sheen intends to help people is to try and find a way in which the best medications for HIV are not so expensive. The actor pays around $4,000 per month for his medications, a price he realizes that the average family cannot afford.
“I have to take three pills each day. The total cost is about $4,000 a month. I know that’s prohibitive to a lot of people’s economic scenarios. Perhaps in my research, and in my journey, we can help develop ways that make it affordable for all.”
Staying positive is usually difficult for most people in Sheen’s position. After revealing that he has HIV, numerous women once linked to the actor came forward themselves to claim they never knew the actor was HIV positive or that Sheen abused them.
At least six women are allegedly filing a lawsuit against the former Two and Half men actor, including adult film star Bree Olson, who claims Sheen never told her he was HIV positive during the many times they were intimate.
Although Olson has since been tested and is not HIV positive, she’s still irate, as heard during a recent interview on The Howard Stern Show, that her name is associated with Sheen. The porn star stated that Sheen fans are blaming her for the actor’s help problems due to the industry she’s in.
“It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever done, dating him. It was Russian roulette every day for a year. People are blaming me saying I gave Charlie AIDS because I’m the porn star.”
Despite all the backlash from former girlfriends, however, Sheen is receiving a lot of support and care from family, friends, and fans, which he says helps him tremendously. Instead of looking at his health at a death sentence, Charlie Sheen feels that he’s been given a chance to possibly change the world.
“I’m grateful for everything I’ve been able to do in life. I’ve made a lot of people laugh and see the world differently through me. Now, maybe it’s time to change the world.”
[Photo Courtesy of Michael Buckner/Getty Images]
