World AIDS Day

I'm going to sneak this post in before we get to the Christmas festivities. Today, December 1st, is World AIDS Day. I contemplated whether or not this was really appropriate for a family history blog especially since I have been exceptionally blessed with not only good health for myself, but none of my family has had to suffer through the disease.

We did, however, have a very close call when in 1979, my uncle was severly injured while working at an auto mechanics shop. With his right leg almost completely severed, he required massive blood transfusions. Throughout those early years of the pandemic, not much was known about the disease and we were all hoping and praying that he had not contracted it when the doctors saved his life. We were lucky but we knew others were not so lucky.

I have lost more friends and acquaintances than I can count on over a hundred toes and fingers. At one point in the 90s I just stopped entering information in my address book in pen. I switched to pencil so I could erase names of those who had passed away rather than stare at so many blue x's.

The world has made great strides in the past 25 years but there are many more to go. If you've lost family members to AIDS or currently have people in your family with AIDS or HIV, think about them today and how it has impacted not only them, but their friends and their family members.