Blogathon

Boots

Scott is one reason I'm passionate about AIDS research. Boots is the other one. Thankfully their stories are very very different. Scott was already sick when I knew him. And it was long enough ago that there wasn't a lot that doctors could do for him. It's different for Boots. While he is HIV+, he is very very healthy, and there are medicines that can help him if he ever gets really sick.

I remember when he told me he was getting tested. I asked if he was just doing it so he'd have proof that he was negative, or if he had reason to be worried. He didn't answer me directly. He just said it had been a while since he'd been tested and he wanted to be sure. Three weeks later I was sitting in my office and he called from the parking lot of the clinic. I asked if it was positive and he said yes. I said "Please tell me you are joking... please?" But he wouldn't joke about that. I told him to come to me and we'd talk.

People in my office knew him, so he was able to walk right past the receptionist and into my office. Into my office and straight into my arms, where we both started crying. I shared an office with Tara at the time, and she politely slipped out of the office and shut the door behind her. I'm not sure how long we held each other and cried. Eventually Tara asked if it was okay to come back, and we said yes, and the three of us talked a bit. After half an hour or so I walked Boots out.

My boss saw us walking out, saw both of our eyes rimmed red. I was not back at my desk five minutes before she came in, shut the door, pulled up my visitor chair and said "Let's have it. What's going on?" (Mind you I had an incredible relationship with her) I told her, started crying all over again, and we had a good talk. Boots was taking the rest of the day off work, and my boss told me to go too- to go and take care of him because he was more important than work at that moment.

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"Poverty stole your golden shoes
but it didn't steal your laughter
And heartache came to visit me
but I knew it wasn't ever after"

Posted by Judy at July 29, 2006 08:03 PM