AIDS sufferers may be ready to come out of the closet and continue the work of Mike Sinclair in publicising the killer disease. Former dentist Mr Sinclair has spoken on AIDS education, awareness and discrimination since he was revealed to be HIV-positive two years ago. Now he is in hospital after collapsing in his Western district flat, having lost six kilograms in three weeks, and is finding it increasingly hard to carry on the work. Dr Patrick Li Chung-ki, head of Queen Elizabeth Hospital's AIDS unit, said some of his other patients were wavering between continuing to conceal their secret from bosses and family or revealing all to make people more aware of the disease. 'In a sense it's different because Mike has lost his job, so he has nothing to fear,' said Dr Li. 'He was working at the AIDS Foundation and he didn't have any family in Hong Kong. 'It would be of great help if more people would come out and speak publicly, especially if they're Chinese.' Mr Sinclair said he would leave his hospital bed to attend Thursday's World AIDS Day functions in a wheelchair. 'Sometimes when I'm really sick, I wake up and think: 'I don't want to do this, I want to go back to being Mike Sinclair, stand-up comedian',' said the man who helped found the Comedy Club at the Godown bar and restaurant in Central. 'But AIDS is not going away and I think there is some value in letting people see what the disease looks like. It is not just World AIDS Days and balloons, it is a very, very unpleasant disease. 'I couldn't get out of the publicity now - I'd be the Greta Garbo of Wan Chai.' Mr Sinclair intends to be at the AIDS Foundation open day ceremony and the AIDS Concern dance marathon on Thursday afternoon. His health deteriorated after a recent journey to Scotland to reveal his condition to his father, an experience he documented in the Sunday Morning Post earlier this month. He said a simple trip from his apartment, into the lift and out to buy a newspaper from a nearby vendor would take two to three hours. 'At times I've been so weak in my apartment I've had to go around on my hands and knees.' The most recent collapse came during an outing for supplies. 'I did a magnificent flourish in the 7-Eleven and passed out to find myself sitting on a pile of plastic baskets,' he said. 'The staff didn't bat an eyelid, they just handed me my plastic bag and change.' Dr Li said the hospital had run blood tests, done a bone marrow biopsy, a blood transfusion and X-rays in the hope of pinpointing a cause for Mr Sinclair's deterioration. 'We still feel there's a chance that we could identify something that we could treat,' said Dr Li. Mr Sinclair is expected to return home within two weeks.
