Excellent article wonderful person

Very good piece. Thank you.

Just when I'm convinced all the good talent has left the stranger, this sort of thing shows there's still hope.

A true hero. Thank you so much, Dr. Shalit.

I was a kid when this was taking place and was vaguely aware of it, but man do articles like this really make it visceral and vivid. Thanks

Man, its hard to get through that without a weep. What a good man indeed.

My mom's a semi-retired-RN-nurse-now HS teacher ( I don't know why...), but she did hospice home health for around 10 years in SC, spanning from around 93 until 2004. Over the past 10 years, she's opened up about caring for hospice patients dying of AIDS and the stories of how families' inability/ability to deal and cope (or )with the deterioration and death of their loved ones. If you want to do another feature on the history of AIDS deaths, seek and talk to the almost/completely retired hospice nurses from that era.

This piece is great. Thanks for writing it.

In the 90's, Dr. Shalit was also one of the only physicians in Seattle to provide hormone replacement therapy to trans folks. He's been my doctor for twenty years. An all around great guy.

Also... I had no idea he'd moved. Thanks Stranger for letting me know.

I always read these "never forget" type pieces with mixed feelings. Part of me is grateful we CAN forget. Even being a child in the late 80s and early 90s I knew the horror that was going on and the fear that people were feeling. It can be an incredibly paralyzing memory if you let it.

Wonderful article about an amazing man. Thank you for this...and thanks to Dr. Shalit.

@10 I didn't know that. That makes him even more awesome. I'm a trans girl and drs like this guy are such a crucial thing. The weird exuberant gratitude I have for the doctor who prescribed my hrt is nearly embarrasing

Great piece.

Great story. It's good to remember.

We should never forget. Those who forget the past are bound to repeat it.

Peter has been a godsend to the gay community in Seattle.

Thank you for this.

@7 I've never been able to read these types of stories without bawling. There were two other doctors, brothers, who were treating AIDS patients during those days, anyone remember their names? Many doctors didn't want to take HIV+ patients, afraid of exposure. I was really young then, but can still remember how angry I felt reading a story about a poll of world's doctors where 85% of French doctors said they would take AIDS patients, compared to only 15% of American doctors!
France also prosecuted all of their ministers whom ignored and covered up the crisis at the beginning, they were all sent to prison. The US has NEVER held anyone responsible for ignoring and lying about the epidemic: "And The Band Played On".

Thank you for caring for my brother and remembering him, Dr Shalit.

who ignore? whom sounds weird

my first apartment in seattle was the upstairs of a small house at the corner of 12th and Denny. Central Co-op was across the street. The lower floor was occupied by a band of midwives and doulas. There was no physical separation between our upstairs one-bedroom late-80s freshly remodeled space and the medical offices downstairs.

This was curious to me and after befriending the (curiously clearly non-breeder) breeder helpers downstairs, I asked why and how the place was remodeled in such a way, apartment upstairs, no door, medical facility downstairs.

They explained that the house had been owned by a gay couple, doctors, who had recognized the urgent need in the community for safe spaces and committed care.

They'd each passed away from AIDS sometime within a relatively recent timeframe. My impression was that the midwives and doulas were the first tenants after the former proprietors had passed. Occam then taught me in turn that I and my then-partner were the first tenants in what had been the doctors' residence. I never learned their names. They still taught me a great deal, and I suppose I should look up the property records to learn if I can write a note to their families.

Dr. Shalit has been my doctor for 18 years now and I can't envision ever seeing anyone else. He is fabulous. I have always felt "safe" in his care.

Thank you for this piece, Matt. Here's one on a central figure of a slightly earlier period in San Diego, Dr. Brad Truax: http://gay-sd.com/moments-in-time-power-…