Nearly forty years ago, the world was struck by another viral outbreak. As information grew about this strange new disease, so did concern. Because HIV was contagious, and AIDS, the condition it led to, was terminal.
In the 1980’s and early 90’s, a diagnosis of HIV was not only a death sentence, it was a life sentence, because individuals living with the disease were feared, avoided and blamed. They became modern day lepers.
But even at the height of the panic, when death rates climbed into the millions, and stigma ran rampant, my parents and many of their friends refused to give into the hysteria. They chose education over rumors and compassion over blame. Individuals living with HIV were included in their circle of friends. They ate at our dining room table, sang songs around our piano. In our home, at least, they were seen as people, not walking diagnoses.
Most of the students in my high school had never met anyone living with HIV or AIDS until a program called Face to Face came to our school. It included an informational video about the two interwoven conditions and a chance for small groups of students to meet with individuals living with HIV or AIDS. My classmates were stunned by the normalcy of some, and the almost corpse like condition of others. But mostly it was the stories that impacted them. Stories full of hopes and heartbreaks, love and loss. Stories that let us see the person behind the diagnosis.
Treatment for HIV and AIDS has been revolutionized in the last few decades. But some of the stigma still stands. Today, as we celebrate Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, I hope that the novel Life and Other Complications will bring a better understanding of HIV and a little compassion for the teens living with it.