On December 6, 2019, the Living on Your Own students (LOYO) listened to a presentation that would change their lives forever.
A speaker who has been living with AIDS for almost 20 years of his life came into Mrs. Stover’s class and brought awareness to the HIV/AIDS virus. Although the majority of his story was sad to listen to, he was optimistic at the end by sharing how the last couple of years, his T-cell count was that of a normal, healthy person without the HIV virus (800).
The presenter not only explained his battle with the virus since 2001, but he also told his life story about how he was not accepted into his own family after coming out as gay while growing up to his conservative parents. His life had been rough but also contained good parts when he lived on his own and started a new life. This allowed him to go to medical school and become a worker in a hospital specializing in blood draws. It was then that he was accidentally stabbed with a dirty needle and he contracted the virus.
His life was then changed, but he received the help he needed to live a healthy life of a person with HIV and even gained support from his parents.
He has been speaking to schools for 18 years, helping nearly two generations of students learn about HIV/AIDS.