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Stories (all names have been changed)

My name is Debbie

When I got sick, I had no idea I had HIV. My name is "Debbie" and my husband contracted the virus but did not tell me. He has since died and left me to deal with my illness and anger toward him. There are times I get so depressed and so angry over the situation, that I do not take my medications. I get sick and have to start all over again. I do well for awhile but when life gets difficult, I get depressed and stop taking my medications. It’s a vicious cycle but with continued anger and depressions one I find difficult to break.

Joan

My name is "Joan" and shortly after I was diagnosed, I asked the question that I imagine almost every newly diagnosed woman asks: "Who's ever going to want to be with me?" It was a stroke of good fortune that I posed the question to a self-respecting woman who'd been living with HIV for more than a decade already. "If someone loves you -- I mean really loves you," she said, "and you tell him something like this, then he should love you more not less." In my lingering shame and shock, that sounded radical to me. Now I know it to be the truth. At some point, death will take someone you love or take you from someone who loves you. Someone who is grateful for your prescence will hold you closer, not push you away, because you have HIV.

I'm fourteen

I am a 14-year-old girl and I have HIV. My two sisters and I were all born with this disease. My foster mom has to keep up with all of our medications and make sure we get to the doctor and get our blood work done every three months. We like to teach other teenagers about HIV, but most of our friends do not know we do that because they don’t know we are HIV positive. My oldest sister, who is in college, has a boyfriend and she is trying to figure out how to tell him. This is a lot to handle for someone our age.

My name is Kate

Fifteen years ago, my son died of AIDS; he was only 30. My name is 'Kate" and I have told only two people that he died of AIDS. Even my own brothers and sisters think he died of a stomach disorder. We live in a small town and when he became very ill and knew he was not going to make it, his father and I told him to move back to Florida so no one here would find out. His father was killed a few years ago and now I carry this pain alone because no one knows. I can’t tell anyone because what would they think?

My name is Anne

My name is "Anne" and my son has HIV. He was diagnosed almost ten years ago and most of my friends still don’t know. They know he’s gay and perhaps they’ve guessed he has HIV, but I just can’t bring myself to tell them for fear they wouldn’t understand. Every time he gets a cold I worry it will develop into pneumonia and he will die. I worry that I will have to bury him & no mother should ever have to attend her own son’s funeral. My daughter tells me it will be more difficult to tell people about my son if he dies from AIDS. But I just cannot find it in myself to tell our secret. I hope I don’t regret it..

5th Annual Runway Red Fashion Show & Luncheon

Matthew 25 AIDS Services, Inc. plans to pack the Community Baptist Church auditorium on Saturday March 17 from 11:00 am until 2:00 pm, when the nonprofit organization stages its fifth annual charity fashion show and lunch, Runway Red.

Concerned by the increase we have seen within our clinic in the number of women who are HIV positive, Runway Red is always scheduled in March, so that the educational component dovetails with National Women and Girls HIV Awareness Day. In 2002, 16% of our patient population was female, while in 2010 we saw that number increase to 21%! The most effective way we have to combat this problem locally is to increase our HIV Prevention efforts in the form of community education events. The more people who know about HIV/AIDS, the better prepared our communties will be to help prevent the spread of the disease!

Runway Red attendees will enjoy a catered lunch, door prizes, a silent auction and the opportunity to view current fashions from Tri-State boutiques and shops, such as Victoria’s, Wildflower, Third Street House, Klassy Kids, Paul’s Menswear and Flutter. Vendor tables featuring a variety of products from independent sales representatives will be set up to allow attendees to view and purchase items.

Special guest speaker for the event will be Sigga Jagne, the current AIDS Director for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Government Co-Chair of the Southern AIDS Coalition and one of 20 AIDS Directors elected to the executive committee to lead the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors.