SIOUX FALLS, SD : When AIDS and HIV first became a problem, many people reacted in fear and didn't want any contact with an HIV positive person. Now you rarely hear anything about the disease, but a national speaker who came to Sioux Falls Wednesday is out to change that."I was born with HIV or got it through breast feeding basically. My mom was very heavy into meth and heroin," Marissa Smith said. Smith was just seven years old when her mother died from AIDS. "You don't tell little kids that your mom is coming home tomorrow when you mom is not coming home tomorrow," Smith said. But the pain of her mother's death was made worse when she later tested positive for HIV herself. "It took them forever to figure out how it was they were going to explain to an eight year old that just lost their mother to AIDS that she had HIV," Smith said. Smith quickly learned about the stigma that comes with the diagnosis. Some kids at school called her "the HIV girl" and the parents weren't any better. "We had a lot of parents coming in saying, 'Why is there an HIV positive child with my child?'" Smith said. The situation turned into chaos the first time Smith cut herself on the playground. "That was one experience where I was treated like a complete disease, not a human being," Smith said. But Smith's principal eventually brought doctors in who started educating parents, students and teachers about the facts of AIDS and HIV. Now Smith is doing the same thing, using her experience to help young women understand the consequences of risky behaviors. "People regardless of age, still think that they are not at risk, which I think is simply amazing. I mean my own best friends, they know me. I have HIV. They've met my friends that have HIV. They still think they can't get it. It can happen to you, get tested and do your part to stay safe," Smith said. Smith said that while the treatments for HIV have gotten a lot better, the old stigma remains. "What I have to say to women, young women who end up getting HIV is don't ever, ever think you're not that beautiful woman, because I've met so many women that once they find out they have HIV, they don't look at themselves as that same strong, beautiful woman anymore," Smith said. There are currently 372 people in South Dakota living with AIDS or HIV. Source:Keloland
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Dealing With HIV & AIDS
