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I
grew up in the small town
of Willow River, Minnesota.
And when I say small town,
I mean, small town; on a
crowded day there might
be about two hundred people.
When I was nine years old,
my parents adopted a three
year old girl named Tiff.
She arrived at our house
after attending her biological
mother's funeral. About
a year after I met and fell
in love with my little brown-eyed
sister, I was told by the
caseworker who was handling
the adoption process that
Tiff was born HIV positive.
All that I knew about the
disease...and all I could
really think about was that
my little sister was going
to die. It was all very
difficult to grasp; my 10
year-old mind couldn't handle
the thought of losing someone
that I had just grown to
love.
My parents didn't want me
to know about Tiff's HIV
status; they felt that I
was too young to understand,
but the case-worker wasn't
privy to that information.
SHe just said to me..."So
you know your little sister
has HIV." "No, I did not."
I'm not really sure if it
was the best way for me
to find out, but I do know
it probably could have been
handled better.
About a year after I found
out Tiff was HIV positive,
my mother told me about
this camp that's moving
in practically next door,
called Camp Heartland. My
mother found out at a town
meeting that the camp was
for children infected or
affected by HIV and AIDS.
At first I didn't want to
go, I had never been to
camp before. I didn't know
any of the other kids, they
weren't from my town. I
was an 11 year-old who was
too old for camp. I thought
of any excuse possible,
but my mother just said
to me, "You're little sister
is going and you should
go to look after her."
So we went...and I don't
know who had a better time,
her or me. IN fact, I progressed
my way from being a camper
to becoming a counselor,
so I could give back to
Camp what camp had given
to me...even though I feel
I could never really give
back anywhere near the amount
of love I've received from
camp. I still can't believe
why they chose Willow River
though, out of all the places
in this country they chose
my small town. I guess it
was fate.
 Last year at camp I fell
in love. From the first
day of staff training when
we walked down camp's Trail
of Hope...I know this may
sound corny, but I knew
this was the girl for me.
We may sound like any ordinary
couple, but there is one
big difference...she is
HIV positive.
I knew going in to our relationship
that there would be obstacles
that I wouldn't have to
deal with if I dated someone
that wasn't positive - but
that someone wouldn't be
HER. That someone wouldn't
be my love. Her being positive
has actually made our relationship
stronger. We had to know
that we loved each other
and that we cared for each
other because we knew the
risks were so high, especially
the risks involving sex.
I know how some people might
say, "When I'm in the middle
of it, I don't want to stop
to get out a condom and
deal with putting it on.
It might kill the mood."
I just want to say to you,
that if the person cares
about you, they'll wait
the 30 seconds in return
for their safety and don't
worry; the mood will be
just fine.
I know I need to be responsible
because I know my partner's
status, but I'd make the
smart decision even if I
didn't and YOU should do
the same! Think positive,
Stay Negative. Thank you!
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