Dr. Mahlon Johnson's recent appearance on "60 Minutes" kicked off a wave of national publicity focusing on the VUMC pathologist's battle against HIV.
VUMC pathologist's story marching from coast to coast
The story of Vanderbilt University Medical Center pathologist Dr. Mahlon D. Johnson and his apparently successful fight against HIV is, it seems, everywhere.
Johnson's battle against the virus that causes AIDS ‹ detailed in his recently published book Working On a Miracle ‹ has become the subject of national attention, and, by extension, so has VUMC. Earlier this week Johnson was featured on "60 Minutes" and the "Today Show" and was the subject of the cover story in USA Weekend magazine. Next week, he will be profiled in USA Today and People magazine.
This crush of national interest stems from Johnson's remarkable odyssey, which began more than four years ago with an autopsy on an AIDS-infected corpse at the Veterans Administration hospital here.
"With one slip of my scalpel, I went from doctor to patient, a patient stalked by HIV," Johnson writes in his book.
When his test came back positive for the virus that causes AIDS, Johnson decided to formulate his own battle plan to fight the disease. That plan ‹ which at the time ran contrary to conventional treatments ‹ was to immediately begin an aggressive regimen of a veritable alphabet soup of drug therapies, including AZT, 3TC, DDI, Delavirdine and IL2.
When Johnson began his treatment, it was common for such high-powered drug therapies to be undertaken only after the patient's HIV had turned into full-blown AIDS. That approach didn't suit Johnson.
"From my view, it was much better to die fighting than to start fighting when you are dying."
Johnson's quest has apparently been successful up to this point. The HIV virus is now undetectable in his bloodstream, and his white blood cell count is above 1,000, which ranks in the high normal range. Johnson, however, does not claim to have found a cure. Other AIDS experts, in fact, warn against unrealistic optimism, fearing the disease may be lying dormant or hiding out in another part of his body, such as the lymph nodes.
Though that one slip of the scalpel irreversibly altered his life, Johnson remains optimistic and says he wouldn't change the last four years of his life even if he could.
"This is an education I wouldn't give back," he said on "60 Minutes." "I say that in part based on the fact that I think I'm going to be okay now. It's an education I never would have had."