I have read And the Band Played On. Very powerful book.

@leslie110 The first time I read it, I was single and had no kids. The second time I read it, I was the mother of a couple bleeders...

I had 4 relatives who were "bleeders" who passed away from AIDS.

@leslie110 I wonder how different the outcome would've been had HIV not been labeled a "gay" disease....I'm so very sorry for your loss.

A childhood friend of mine was a bleeder and died of Aids on 10-31-94. I remember it was like it was yesterday.I had recently watched A Normal Heart, that I had dvr'ed off of HBO awhile ago. I mainly watched it because Mark Ruffalo was in it. Ruffalo is a kid from our old neighborhood. He was more a friend of my sister's than a friend of mine. But anyway I try to catch his work when I can. It reminded me so much of the bs that went on back then.If you haven't watched the Dallas Buyer's Club yet, that was awesome.

My oldest was born in '96...the doctor's words were "Well, he has hemophilia. The good news is he probably won't die from AIDS."1st kid, 26 year old new parents, no family history, no idea how to spell hemophilia, no idea what the correlation was....

In the early eighties, we were teens by then, Dale was sicker than usual, but we thought it was just related to hemophilia, we had no idea until years later that he had contracted a virus that he got because his condition.

@Rixblix Thanks for the book titles! Book-aholic here!!

I was going to college in Indiana when Ryan White came on the scene....

From Dr. Ben Carson's Facebook page:
"As a doctor, I am all too familiar with the ravages of HIV and AIDS. I’m old enough, too, to remember a time when an HIV diagnosis was a death sentence. Since then, society and medical science have come together to push back against this terrible disease, to treat its debilitating effects, and to halt its spread through new drugs and practices. It is a remarkable testament to the power of the resolve of the medical community. But the work is far from over. As President, I will not be content until December First is no longer World AIDS Day. We must continue to drive research into newer, better treatments that can protect and prolong life. We must work with international charities and organizations to make treatment and prevention more accessible across the globe. And we must not stop until the scourge of HIV and AIDS is eradicated. So on this World AIDS Day, let us all pray for those afflicted with this disease, and let us redouble our efforts to protect life today and tomorrow."

I remember the first time the AIDS Quilt was displayed on the National Mall. There was a huge crowd there and all you could hear was silence in the middle of the city. I remember the second time it was displayed there. I think that was the last time the entire quilt would be displayed because it was so large. A much, much larger crowd was there the second time and still silence in the middle of the city.

@joepyeweed Dallas Buyer's Club was excellent, yet an emotional heart wrencher for me.