Twenty-one years ago, Dean Thullner held Vancouver in the palm of his hand. With his background in theatre and dance and as owner of a 4,000 sq.ft. hair salon, he was, in his own words, a big player in the citys cultural and social scene.
And then his doctor told him that he had HIV and had three months to live.
That palm had become a fist.
If this was a movie lets say the Dallas Buyers Club Thullner would have turned to underground suppliers of alternatives to AZT, the drug therapy that turned out to be deathly toxic. Instead, Thullner turned to St. Pauls Hospital.
In the late 1980s, it was the only hospital in Vancouver that would knowingly treat people with HIV/AIDS. Not only was it developing its own antiretroviral therapy under the leadership of Dr. Julio Montaner, but its holistic approach was, at the time, unusually compassionate as well as caring.
St. Pauls treated everyone with kindness and respect, Thullner says. They touched us, they didnt put us in separate wards.
Now weighing 200 pounds and feeling fully healthy for the first time since his diagnosis, Thullner has dedicated himself to giving back to the hospital that saved his life. Everything he does has a component of charity, from the sales of art at his Davie Village hair salon, Volume, to the Pride party he helps host.
But its brilliant!, his annual fashion/performance art show and dance party that has fast become one of the hospitals pre-eminent fundraisers. In its first year at the Commodore it raised $100,000. In its second year (this past September), it raised $300,000.
Given its meteoric success, and how time-consuming it is to stage, brilliant! will now be under the auspices of St. Pauls itself, with Thullner signed on as its volunteer producer.
It is both a testament to everything that St. Pauls has accomplished and a recognition that we are in the midst of a mental health crisis that, instead of earmarking the money for HIV, the proceeds will now be donated to the hospitals mental health department.
Thanks to the advances in treatment that St. Pauls has helped make possible, HIV is no longer a death sentence. But Thullner also wants to recognize that a persons health is not only their physical wellbeing. While St. Pauls treatments kept Thullner alive, its the work of its mental health department that gave him the will to keep going and techniques to help him turn his life around.
At so many points over the past 20 years, including the time he was told to get his affairs in order because he likely wouldnt live much longer, he gave up hope. Why plan for a future you wont have? Why take care of yourself when youre going to die soon?
When you find yourself in an isolated, dark place, you burn the candle bright because you feel it wont burn long, he says.
St. Pauls gave him back his hope but others have not been as lucky.
He had to watch as many of his friends and colleagues died. When he walks up Davie Street today, he cant help but think of all the businesses, now long gone, that were owned by gay men who succumbed to HIV/AIDS.
Hes also learned a lot about the struggles that people with mental illness face through his husband David Veljacic, who is bi-polar. They married four months after they met eight years ago and its Veljacic whos turned part of Volume into a flower shop.
As Thullner told his St. Pauls story, other people told him theirs. He learned that St. Pauls hired the citys first black nurse and first male nurse. When sex trade workers were too frightened to seek medical care because they would be turned over to police, St. Pauls staff created a system where theyd call themselves Carla 1, Carla 2.... The files were kept in a separate drawer for ready access when, for instance, Carla 17 came in. Its non-judgemental nature shines through every department.
When Thullner came up with the idea for brilliant!, he wanted to learn from all the fundraisers hed been to and didnt like. First, he wants it to be fun. Second, he wants to treat everyone the same, whether they donate $10,000 or buy a $75 ticket.
With hundreds of people volunteering there were 168 people in the cast, plus just as many more behind the scenes he also took the unprecedented step of telling everyone involved that they needed to buy a ticket. That means the stylist who takes a day off work to volunteer for the show also pays to be there.
Thullner is deeply touched by how the fashion and style community has come together to make brilliant! well, brilliant. He and his show co-producer Roma Sumra (my right arm) are already planning next years theme on cultural diversity.
