Mitchell and Alee Stirling—now 11 and 17—were born with HIV. When they became gravely ill in 1996, baffled doctors eventually tested the entire family for HIV, revealing that they—and their mother Suzan—were positive. Suzan’s husband Clay tested negative. Thanks to the then newly-available protease inhibitors, Suzan and her children saw remarkable improvements in their health and were so inspired by their rebound from AIDS that they welcomed Yonas, an HIV-positive orphan from Ethiopia, into the Stirling fold.
“I’m really happy I have family,” Yonas told Good Morning America, grinning ear to ear.
While healthy and flourishing, the Stirlings kept the virus a secret until daughter Alee convinced the rest of the family to bring their story to the community and, eventually, the pages of POZ.
“Knowing that people don’t know about it just kind of ate away inside me,” Alee said on Good Morning America. Her mother Suzan worked up the courage not only to share her family’s story in POZ, but to write it herself. “I’m very proud of her for succeeding at that,” Alee added, before giving her mom a hug.
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DANIEL HILL, NIAGARA FALLS, 2008-03-16 16:58:53
I HAVE KNOWED I AM WITH AIDS FOR FIVE YEARS NOW THANK GOD I HAVE GOOD DOCTORS THAY HAVE KEP ME ALIVE THAT IS GRATE LOVE MY DOCTORS IN BUFFALO NEW YORK
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
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Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
