The nurse hadn’t opened her mouth yet, but Tree Alexander already knew what she was going to say: He had HIV.
Mr. Alexander had been tested two weeks earlier, after learning that his girlfriend was positive.
Waiting for the results was excruciating, but now that he finally had the answer, it brought no relief.
“I remember leaving the hospital that day and wanting to jump on the train tracks,” he said. “I wanted to disappear. I wanted to be a different person.”
That was ten years ago.
Last Thursday, as he sat on a bench in Road Town, the New York resident explained that he’s become “very comfortable” with his status.
Only moments before, the man who took months to tell his own family he had HIV spoke publicly about his disease at a candlelight memorial ceremony for AIDS victims at Noel Lloyd Positive Action Park.
The event, which was held on World AIDS Day, was organised by the HIV AIDS Foundation BVI, which invited Mr. Alexander to speak.
See the Dec. 8, 2016 edition for full coverage.
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