Peter Busse, one of the first South Africans to openly declare his HIV status, died on Friday. Health-e News Service spoke to a few people whose lives Busse touched in many different ways. When 34-year-old mother of three Vicki Bam stood up at an International Women’s Day meeting in 2004, she had been living with the disease for two years. Her speech was testimony to the lives Peter Busse had touched and in the case of Bam – saved. “The first three months after I was diagnosed was a living hell. I even thought of committing suicide. But at that time I met someone who made a positive impact on my life. His name is Peter Busse who had been living with HIV/Aids positively for the past 17 years and he made me realize that being HIV positive is not a death sentence,” Bam told the gathering.