Earl Moxam, Senior Gleaner Writer

He was a typical teenager - a happy-go-lucky school boy, living for fun with his friends, sport, and, inevitably, a keen eye for the girls.

Until, that is, one fateful day, a year ago.

John (not his real name) was totally unprepared for what his sombre-faced mother was about to tell him: "I am HIV-positive."

It took a while for the full import of the words she had just uttered to sink in. Hitherto, HIV and AIDS were just that - mere words describing a dreaded condition that happened to other people, not his own precious mother!

Helpless

It was a Saturday morning and he was watching television in his bedroom when she entered and indicated by her sombre face that she had something of the utmost importance to discuss with him.

"She sat me down and said to me that she had something to tell me and I must always keep this a secret and never let anyone know about it unless she decide to tell anybody else," he recounted at a recent Gleaner Editors' Forum.

So, he didn't yet know what she was getting at, but she had his full attention.

"I asked her what the problem was and she asked me if I knew that she loves me, and I said, 'Yes'. Then she started crying and told me that she was infected with HIV and AIDS, but at the time I didn't know much about it. I wasn't that involved, close to it."

So, there was his mother crying and he sat there helpless, not quite knowing what to make of it.

Difficult situation

"She said it was a disease that sooner or later she could lose her life from it and that I was not supposed to cry or take it too hard on myself."

One year later, it was still easy to discern how difficult a situation the young boy found himself in. First, his mother tells him she might be dying; then, almost in the same breath, she is telling him not to cry!

Shortly afterwards, he set out for church.

"On my way to church, I was thinking about it and trying to remember what my mother told me. I wanted to cry on the bus, but I had to keep it down."

So, he made it safely into the church without breaking down. Would he be able to keep it up?

"I was there sitting, doing my normal activities, paying attention, and then I felt something, and I was saying to myself, 'Suppose I go home and see my mother not as happy as how she used to be,' and then I just had to get up and go back home!"

Counselling

Off he hurried and charged upstairs to see his mother. "And then we sat down again and she was there crying, I was there crying," he recalled, his audience listening silently to his every word, while he struggled with his emotions.

Luckily, he said, his mother was a professional counsellor, which greatly assisted in her understanding of what needed to be done. She did not rely on her own counselling resources, though, preferring instead to encourage John to see another professional. He declined, preferring to stick close to her, lest she should die while he was away.

One year later, John's mother is still alive and doing well. How did he cope during the year?

"It was very tricky for me, but still I got through it, because she told me about many other people that were infected with the virus and they live a long time in life and some still alive, some die. Now, I am just trying to live and pass through it," he explained.

Despite the challenges, in fact, John regards the last year as the happiest of his life, and it's all because of his mother. "She hasn't shown any signs of dying!" he exulted.