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Christmas time is supposed to be a season of joy - with ho-ho-hoing and fa-la-la-la-laing.
But 14 Smoky Mountain High School students are singing a different tune, one with a more serious note. For them, this is the Christmas of AIDS.
These STAR pupils students teaching AIDS research - personally feel the impact and close reality of this acquired immune deficiency syndrome since they met Marie. Marie (not her real name) was infected with AIDS by her husband, who didn't tell her he had the disease because he was afraid of losing her.
Five long, lonely years Marie lived with the knowledge she had AIDS, but she dared not tell anyone. "I was living in an AIDS closet," she told the students of her isolated life.
"She still hasn't told her own daughter, but she had the courage to come and speak to these high school students who are the same age as her daughter," said STAR sponsor and biology teacher Kim Corzine.
"She could have been the mother of any of my friends," said one of the STAR club members who had categorized an AIDS victim as a female drug user who shares needles or a gay guy. "She sure didn't fit my stereotype; she was well educated, even had a master's degree."
Marie's story of getting AIDS from her husband reinforced to these club members that "AIDS is not just a gay thing."
"It was an incredible experience to hear Marie's story," said Claire Lawrence, who hugged Marie after the presentation. "She took away all my myths about AIDS. Here I was hugging a person with AIDS and always before I had a fear of getting too close to someone with the disease, afraid I might get it. But now I know you can't get AIDS from hugging."
"When Marie told us, "My husband killed me, but I'm not dead yet,' that really impacted me," said student Katie McGuire.
"AIDS isn't out there; it's right here in our own community," said another STAR. "We need to be aware of that. It's not something you can just keep hush-hush."
After hearing Marie, club members decided to rethink their choices when it comes to relationships.
"I will want to see a doctor's clean bill of health and blood test results," said one.
With the new drugs, people think they can have unprotected sex and their doctors can cure them. But the new drugs are not a cure, Marie emphasized.
Each of the 14 admitted how sad they felt when Marie told them she was now forced to live a life of poverty because her prescriptions and medical care cost so much.
"Marie said if she could impact just one of the students, her visit would have been worthwhile," said Linda Fitzsimmons with the Jackson County Health Department and project manager with the Nantahala AIDS Consortium, who arranged for her visit.
"She got 14 of us, for sure," said Nick Breedlove. "The day Marie came, I thought I was having a bad day because I had this big test. But when she said she was having a good day because she wasn't throwing up, suddenly my day seemed a lot better. She certainly changed my perspective."
Marie's perspective on life is, "Don't sweat the small stuff and take every day like it's your last."
The STARs have started fund-raising activities to help Marie, as well as other AIDS victims and families. While other children will have their stockings filled this Christmas, the 14 STAR club members are donating shoes to children of AIDS victims as their Christmas project.
On Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, the club sold 1,000 ribbons one for each student for their project. They also sold "bunches and bunches of pizza."
The 14 created posters, which they posted throughout the school with such amazing statistics as:
Half of all AIDS infections worldwide occur between the ages 15-19;
One AIDS-infected U.S. citizen dies every 15 minutes;
One U.S. citizen is infected with AIDS every 13 minutes.
If you would like to help the STARs with their Christmas project, contact any member or Corzine at the high school.
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