Peter Taylor at the This Is Your Life function Peter Taylor's health and energy levels are fluctuating, he is weak but "doing ok," according to close friend Karen Ritchie. Taylor, who has struggled with HIV and a similarly debilitating disease called leishmaniasis, elected to withdraw from all treatments and medical intervention following a tribute function held to honour him on August 31. He had remained on the medications and taking blood transfusions in order to be able to attend that function but felt he could not continue his struggle longer than that. "Pete is Pete," says Ritchie. "He has his sort of 'not-so-well' days, and then he sort of gets sparks of energy and he will be doing something on a speaking level," she says Ritchie. Given his lowered level of health in recent months and the likelihood that foregoing treatments will lead to his accelerated death, Taylor is "doing fine, albeit weak." Ritchie says the This Is Your Life charity dinner held in Auckland, of which she was an organiser on behalf of the Cartier Charitable Trust, was a successful night. "It was a beautiful and absolutely stunning night", she says. "There's so much positive feedback on it and Peter was absolutely in awe the whole night... he (Taylor) doesn't believe that it was all for him." A number of items were auctioned on the night including artwork and photographs self-signed by Barbra Streisand and Elizabeth Taylor. Ritchie says the total amount raised by the evening will be advised once the calculation process is finalised. She doesn't expect that it will be a large amount, but "it wasn't all about raising money, it was about honouring Peter."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 11th September 2013 - 4:52pm