Before During and After AIDS

In the Summer of 1990 through the Spring of 1996 - I was propelled toward HIV/AIDS knowledge when the disease became a part of my own reality. My family became one of many families since the early 1980s to experience the epidemic personally. I felt the pain of suffering the loss of my beloved son, King Kleski; from AIDS-related complications and also in the Spring of 2002 I lost a friend, John Linzmaier; that I cared for deeply. The tipping point for me was experiencing how the premature death of someone you love so very much from HIV—a preventable and controllable disease; can knock a family and virtually an entire community off balance.

In the last 25 years, 25 million people have died of AIDS. Forty million people worldwide-one million in the US alone, are living with HIV/AIDS (as many as one third doesn’t know they are infected). With as many as five million new infections last year, we must increase our efforts to end this virus. Researchers are striving to find an effective AIDS vaccine, better treatments with fewer side effects and, eventually, a cure. Success of finding a cure depends on the generosity of people like you and me.

As the mother of someone very special to me; (my son lived and died with the HIV/AIDS Virus). I have been able to use knowledge I have learned since this experience to try and draw attention to the issues that are in my opinion the most important. Having seen the tremendous amount of human devastation caused by AIDS and having lost people I love to this disease, no issue is more important to my being.

The crisis is far from over; Right now over one million people in the U.S. alone are living with the HIV/AIDS Virus.

In 1981 the media was reporting the HIV/AIDS virus as a rare cancer among young homosexual men.

In the early eighties people were being ignored and infected unnecessarily. The disease was assumed at that time as too shameful even to speak of; far too few were being educated about prevention.

These were the first reported cases of what would become the AIDS epidemic. Looking back no one could have foreseen, the devastating toll this disease would take on families, communities even entire countries around the world.

In the early days of the epidemic, misinformation ran out of control. Those infected faced discrimination everywhere they would turn. Many lost jobs friends and family. Children with AIDS were kicked out of school, and even threatened with violent attacks against their families. In an environment of hysteria, ignorance and stigma, the virus thrived and spread out of control.

We’ve come a long way since then, we still have a long way to go, the threat of losing someone you love is far from over. Research advancements have given us treatments, that are helping people with HIV/AIDS live longer, healthier, more productive lives. Public education has brought about a better understanding of HIV/AIDS and how to protect yourself and others from infection, but do not think the fight has been won. We have been fighting a battle with some results but now it is time to fight the war.

The message I want to share today is clear-cut and critically important: The HIV/AIDS epidemic has gone on far too long in view of the fact that we are not doing all we can to stop it.

By “we” I mean our government, and yes, I also mean you and me, and every person in this nation. Working together, we can do something about this killer. That’s why I am speaking to you today.

As a mother and losing someone very close to me, these depressing statistics hit close to home and increase my sense of urgency to raise awareness about HIV, not only among the general public but among policy makers as well. During my experience; I had the chance to communicate not only with my son but with some of his friends who have this dreadful disease. This was an extremely empowering experience for me because I am the face and voice of someone whose family has been personally affected by HIV/AIDS.

Because of this experience, I can truly say that I am qualified to speak of the responsibility and power we have as Americans to exercise our freedom of speech and to hold our elected officials accountable!

If you too want to urge your lawmakers to help in our fight to get more funding for research in finding an effective vaccine to prevent HIV/AIDS call your State Representatives, Senators, Congressmen and the President. Write letters expressing your disgust with their neglect in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

This is why I am asking you today or sometime in the future to give $1.00, $2.00, a little of your time, your compassion or whatever you can to the AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT FOUNDATION or some other AIDS RESEARCH ORGANIZATION.

I hope you will unite with me today; as together we can relegate AIDS to the history books. I thank you for coming here today and for your caring support.

As you decide how much to give, think of the men, women and children who would pay anything to be free of this disease. This is a battle that has taken so many lives, and I hope and pray you’ll continue to wage war against this unforgiving killer.

If you are sexually active please use protection, because;
"No matter where you live, who you are, or what you do, you should never need your partner's permission to save your own life."

I want to thank you for coming here today and being a part of this event.