2009 World AIDS Day; Remembering Dan

In 1988 The World Health Organization decided to name December 1st as World AIDS Day. It was a dark time for world in those early days of AIDS. There was such a strong stigma attached to HIV/AIDS that people afflicted with the disease were ostracized by their friends and family, the general public treated them like they had the plague, and even health officials were often far from caring. It was a bleak and sad time that we can never forget as many people suffered and died in a virtual state of shame.

I wish that I could say those dark days are behind us but many still suffer from discrimination for the disease and the death toll still remains quite high even though some progress has been made. According to AVERT (AVERTing HIV and AIDS) in 2008, 2.7 million people were newly infected with HIV in the world. This brings the total to 33.4 million people who currently live with HIV.

UNAIDS has reported that HIV infection has fell 17 percent over eight years worldwide but in parts of Africa the infection rate in men, women, and children still remains staggering. In certain African countries more than one tenth of the population is infected with HIV. It is believed that 22 million people in Africa currently have HIV which will progress to AIDS due to inadaquate medical care available in their country.

Progress has been made. Many people are living longer lives with HIV due to the current prescription drugs that are available. Mother to infant transmission can now be prevented. Education has been working in the world with safer sex practices, blood banks are now safe, and drug users are having more education on needle usage. All of this has helped to lower the spread of HIV.

There is talk of a vaccine on the horizon but no proven vaccine has come to light. There also remains no cure in sight. Further medical research is desperately needed.

I'm happy that education of the public has helped to lower the stigma and discrimination suffered by many with HIV/AIDS. I remember in the early days when AIDS was still so misunderstood meeting a gentleman who's kind soul and spirit touched my life for a little while. He was a special man named Dan who seemed to bring sunshine wherever he went.

It is hard to believe that it's been close to twenty years since I first met Dan. I was working at a local Humane Society caring for the animals and assisting the general public in the adoption of dogs and cats. I was at the front desk when a gaunt, frail man walked through the door. He sported a cowboy hat that was pulled low to hide his skeletal face and a pair of Wranglers jeans belted too high on his waist to prevent them from falling off. He looked like someone who had survived a concentration camp. I didn't know what was wrong with him but I assumed perhaps cancer. He seemed to be in his fifties but maybe the disease had just aged him beyond his years.

He told me that he adored animals but he couldn't own one because he didn't have enough time left but he wanted to know if he could volunteer to help out with them. I told him we were always looking for help with the animals even if it was just someone to sit and hold them. He told me that he suffered from AIDS and wanted to know if that mattered or affected him volunteering. I didn't care that he had AIDS. I told him that he was more than welcome to volunteer at the shelter as often as he wished.

After that afternoon Dan became a regular at the Humane Society. He would come in three or four times a week to help out. He was too weak to do much really but he adored seeing those dogs and cats. His face would light up every time he walked through the door. During those days I came to know Dan deeply. He was sweet, kind, funny, and loving. He came to share hours with the animals because he felt they accepted him and people didn't because he had AIDS. I never cared that he suffered from AIDS and I never asked him how he had contracted it.

During those days I saw firsthand the therapy that animals can lend to a life. He was a transformed person with those cats and dogs. Dan and I spent a lot of time together and I cannot tell you how much I admired his spirit and his kindness. He was the gentlest soul I have ever met.

As the months wore on he seemed to grow more frail and even weaker. Soon he started to come through the door using a walker during his visits. Finally he announced that he was going 'home'. His family was going to take him in up in Seattle. He said that he had to go home since it was becoming hard for him to care for himself and he wanted to be with his family during his final days.

I can still remember telling Dan goodbye. I knew that I would never see his happy face again and it broke my heart. Two short months after his departure his family made a donation in his name and I knew that he was gone. During his absence I had sent him a card from everyone at the Humane Society and all his furry friends but it had gone unanswered. I assumed he was just too sick to reply.

Even today I think about Dan. He found solace with animals who accepted him regardless of what his illness was. I know that in those early days times were horrible for those afflicted with AIDS so I'm glad that he found my little world of animals and the close knit society at a small animal shelter to welcome him. He touched us all with his utter kindness and I still miss him.