Face to Face with HIV

It’s taboo.  Nobody really wants to talk about it.  I have met with women and heard whispers of women who are “sick”.  Sick with HIV.  I have seen it create wear and tear on a body, but nothing like what I encountered today.  Today, I sat face to face with HIV.

Weak, frail, distant, hurting, defeated…this is the reality of what I saw today.

I met a young woman suffering from HIV and never have I seen effects quite like this.  Completely weakened by the battle raging on within her body, she struggled to sit or stand without help.  Muscles tense, hands shaking, eyes “bulging”, pain clearly written across her face.  I found myself completely broken and completely helpless to know what to do.  So I grabbed her hand, smiled, and just sat.

But what I also found today was a sister and a mother caring for one of their own.  They sit and massage her hands.  They help her get dressed and bathe her.  They feed her and care for her like few others would.  They have been willing to put their own lives on pause so that she can live.  What a rare and beautiful gift.

All too often those with HIV are shunned left for dead, on their own to survive.  All too often we hear about the ugly side of HIV.  Yes, it’s an ugly disease.  Yes it’s running rampant in many parts of the world.  BUT yes, there is beauty among the “ashes”.  Not every story has a sad ending.  Not every face goes unseen or unknown.

This young woman has a story, and the reason it is able to be written is because of the love surrounding her.  Today, I sat face to face with HIV and it was beautiful.