Date: Tue, 29 Nov 1994 21:19:44 -0600 (CST)
From: Kevyn Jacobs <kevyn@ksu.edu>
Subject: MERCURY: FAMILIES SAY EDUCATION KEY IN AIDS FIGHT 


FROM THE MANHATTAN MERCURY
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1994
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION
============================


FAMILIES SAY EDUCATION A KEY WEAPON IN AIDS FIGHT

By Beth Bohn
Staff Writer

The best defense against AIDS is education, according to four
Manhattan residents who have had personal experiences with the
disease and the virus that causes it.
     Jennifer Hirschfield, Greg Eiselein, Deb Taylor and Jan
Trulson on Monday told Kansas State University students what it
is like to have a family member who is HIV-positive or has AIDS. 
The four took part in a panel discussion, "Families Living with
HIV/AIDS," as part of KSU's AIDS awareness week activities.
     All four said sharing their experiences was their way of
educating the public about HIV and AIDS.
     Hirschfield, a KSU freshman, lost her father to an AIDS-
related illness just over a year ago.  He contracted the disease
in 1982 through a blood transfusion.  He was 38 years old when he
died.
     "His only fear of the virus...was the fact that it was a gay
guy's disease," she said.  "He related to me he had AIDS in 1989,
four years prior to his death."
     Hirschfield said her father was not a part of her life for
15 years.  However, when he told her he had AIDS, she stuck by
him.  Several family members and friends did not.
     "They, unfortunately, feared the virus and feared him and
left," she said
     Hirschfield believes her father, a policeman in Madison,
Wisc., left the force before anyone could find out he had AIDS.
     "The one thing that saddened me the most was to see him lose
his family, see him lose his friends, and see him lose his
dignity," she said.
     AIDS has claimed one of Eiselein's uncles and one of his
close friends. Eiselein is an assistant English professor at KSU.
     His uncle, Robert "Butch," died of AIDS in Idaho in 1986. 
He was homosexual.
     Until then, Eiselein said he thought AIDS was a disease that
affected only people in California or New York.  The death of his
uncle motivated him to get involved with AIDS community service
groups.  Eiselein is a member of the Manhattan AIDS Project.
     A month ago, a friend of Eiselein's, David, who lived in
Iowa, died of AIDS.
     Discrimination and social stigma are intertwined with the
disease, Eiselein said. His friend was a top real estate agent in
Chicago. After David was diagnosed with AIDS, he was fired,
Eiselein said.
     "That kind of disclosure is horrible," he said.  "Losing his
job also meant his health insurance."
     Eiselein said his father still won't talk about the death of
his brother, Butch.
     "I don't know why," Eiselein said.  "I think part of it is
shame."
     Taylor, a KSU staff member, said she has two brothers who
are both HIV-positive.  Both are homosexual.
     "We've made it clear to (my brothers) that we don't intend
to say they have anything else," she said.  "If you don't call it
what it is, that means you're ashamed they have it."
     Taylor said it is important for her to keep up on the latest
HIV/AIDS information so she can support her brothers.  She also
said it is important for those with HIV or AIDS to let their
family know as soon as possible, so they can deal with other
issues besides how they contracted the disease.
     Trulson's nephew, Michael, 30,  died from an AIDS-related
illness at a Topeka hospital in August 1992.  He told his aunt he
was HIV-Positive in May of that year.
     After his death, Trulson said it took her sister, Michael's
mother, more than two years to get over her son's death.
     "Michael was supposed to bury us.  We weren't supposed to
bury him," Trulson said.
     Michael's two brothers reacted to his announcement he was
HIV-positive in opposite ways, Trulson said.  One was supportive;
the other thought his brother deserved AIDS because he was a
homosexual.  He later changed his mind, naming his newborn son
after his late brother.
     "The only way I know how to deal with it is to go out and
talk to people," Trulson said.  She also found solace by making a
panel for Michael for the AIDS quilt.  The quilt is a patchwork
of panels, each with the name of an AIDS victim.
     "I presented it in 1993," Trulson said.  "It was wonderful
therapy. Each stitch was a memory of Michael."
     The quilt, Trulson believes, will be in Lawrence sometime in
December.  It will be the first time she will have seen her panel
as part of the quilt.
     Kelly Fink,  a health educator at KSU's Lafene Health
Center, said AIDS is the sixth leading cause of death among
people age 16 to 24.