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 Message Boards » » When your dad gives you AIDS, make lemonAIDS Page [1]  
joe17669
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"ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Brryan Jackson has been left out of birthday party invitations and asked not to use water fountains. His daily routine at one point included 23 pills, three IV medications and two injections. But the toughest part of growing up with AIDS for him may be knowing how he got it.

When he was a baby, his father entered his hospital room and injected a syringe of HIV-tainted blood into his tiny body.
At times during his childhood, he was expected to die.

Now 18, he'll put on his black cap and gown Saturday and graduate from Francis Howell North High School in St. Charles, near St. Louis. Shielded from the public for much of his life since his father's high-profile criminal trial a decade ago, Brryan is now an outspoken advocate for people with AIDS, and the power of faith and forgiveness.

"I expect to break the barriers between what people think this virus is, and what it really is," Brryan said Thursday during an interview at his home. "I hope to eliminate a lot of ignorance and change people's minds."
Then he breaks into a few lines from a Lazlo Bane song: "I can't do it all on my own; I'm no Superman."
Brryan's mother, Jennifer Jackson, and his father, Brian Stewart, were together for about two years, off and on, in the early 1990s. After Jackson became pregnant and had the child, Stewart denied he was the father. Paternity tests proved he was.

In 1992, Brryan was 11 months old when he was hospitalized with asthma. After leaving the hospital, he was constantly sick. Doctors ruled out one illness after another.

Finally, in 1996, the child was near death when he was diagnosed with AIDS. But doctors were puzzled about how he got the disease. He wasn't born with it, and had not had blood transfusions. That's when suspicion turned to Stewart.

Stewart worked at a St. Louis hospital as a phlebotomist — his job was drawing blood from patients. Brryan's mother said Stewart came to Brryan's hospital room during that 1992 stay and suggested she go get a bite to eat.

Prosecutors said he had a syringe filled with HIV-tainted blood tucked inside his lab coat. They said he waited until he was alone with the boy and injected him.


There were no witnesses, but at trial in 1998, Jackson and others testified that Stewart had access to tainted blood and previously had threatened to use it as a weapon.

The defense contended the boy could have been infected other ways, perhaps from a medical procedure. But
prosecutors argued that Stewart wanted the family out of his life, and didn't want to pay child support.

"Obviously, the first thing is, what a horrible thing to do to a person. And then, how do you do that to your own child?" said Ross Buehler, the former St. Charles County prosecutor who handled the case.

Stewart was convicted of first-degree assault and received the maximum sentence, life in prison. At sentencing, Judge Ellsworth Cundiff said he was in the same category as "the worst war criminal" and added, "I believe when God finally calls you, you are going to burn in hell from here to eternity."

To distance himself from his father — and to protect his identity growing up — Brryan changed his name from "Brian." He has not been in contact with Stewart but said he has forgiven him.

"God wants us to forgive people," he said. "Am I going to make myself as low as he is? ... I've got to be the better person."

Stewart, now 42, remains in a Missouri prison and is eligible for parole in two years. He declined to be interviewed for this story and said he did not wish to have an attorney comment on his behalf.

Buehler said he occasionally talks to Jennifer Jackson and called Brryan courageous for his AIDS education work. "He's a remarkable kid," Buehler said.

In many ways, Brryan is a typical teen. He became a cheerleader after his sister dared him to try out for the squad; he's learning how to play the guitar.

With improvements in AIDS treatment, he's down to just five medications these days. He said at his last doctor's visit, they didn't draw blood because he has overall been in good health.

Still, he has missed long stretches of school battling AIDS and admits that some days, it's hard to get out of bed.

Friends say Brryan is known for talking animatedly with his hands and making people laugh. And he's fiercely loyal.

Kendra Sontag, 16, said if she has a bad day, Bryyan will often show up at her door to make sure she's all right. His sunny outlook has made her a stronger person, Sontag said.

"He could be mad forever but he chooses to forgive, because that's what God would do," she said.

Brryan's also quite a flirt.

"He likes to hit on the ladies, I'm afraid," Sontag said.

That's where the stigma of his disease can crop up. Sontag said at least one girl has been told to stop talking to Brryan by parents worried about their daughter's involvement with a boy with AIDS.

As always, Brryan moves ahead. He plans to eventually go to college, and hopes one day to go into politics, but for the upcoming months, he'll spend his time advocating for others with AIDS.

Brryan has started a nonprofit called Hope Is Vital. He will work this summer with Project Kindle, a Valencia, Calif.-based organization that sponsors summer camps for children affected by the disease. He also serves as a speaker with that group and a St. Peters, Mo.-based ministry, Upward Bound Ministries.

Project Kindle's founder, Eva Payne, said when Brryan first started attending Camp Kindle seven years ago, he was shy and frequently cried.

"Every year, he was a little more confident," she said. And when another girl broke down a few years ago, because she was having trouble talking about being HIV-positive, Brryan offered his support.

"He said he can be her voice, until she's ready," Payne recalled."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090607/ap_on_re_us/us_teen_hiv_injection

6/7/2009 6:33:55 PM

not dnl
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13193 Posts
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wow

some weird news lately i swear

6/7/2009 6:34:43 PM

Walter
All American
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did you steal your topic name from the comment on Digg?

6/7/2009 6:35:21 PM

umbrellaman
All American
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Why would the dad do something like this?

6/7/2009 6:36:19 PM

joe17669
All American
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I haven't been on Digg in a long time. So no.

6/7/2009 6:36:39 PM

LunaK
LOSER :(
23634 Posts
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^^

6/7/2009 6:45:17 PM

BigMan157
no u
103362 Posts
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to build character?

6/7/2009 6:46:00 PM

eleusis
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Quote :
"To distance himself from his father — and to protect his identity growing up — Brryan changed his name from "Brian." "


what kind of fucked up name is that? it can't even be pronounced

Quote :
"Brryan's also quite a flirt.

"He likes to hit on the ladies, I'm afraid," "


Seems like he has a lot in common with his father.

[Edited on June 7, 2009 at 6:56 PM. Reason : more]

6/7/2009 6:54:06 PM

ThePeter
TWW CHAMPION
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^His name IS "Brryan".

Quote :
"In many ways, Brryan is a typical teen. He became a cheerleader after his sister dared him to try out for the squad"


I wouldn't quite say that a guy on the cheerleading squad is that normal...in the circles I know at least. Our high school might have had a guy on there, I can't remember

[Edited on June 7, 2009 at 6:58 PM. Reason : wat]

6/7/2009 6:58:20 PM

cddweller
All American
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Nice easy way to get with teh ladiez.

6/7/2009 7:00:13 PM

dagreenone
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^^
Quote :
"Brryan is known for talking animatedly with his hands"

Quote :
"He became a cheerleader after his sister dared him to try out for the squad"

sounds gay to me.



Anyways, what a fucked up thing for the father to do. Crazy news stories as of late.

6/7/2009 7:28:03 PM

beergolftile
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6/7/2009 7:49:18 PM

Mr Scrumples
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Reminds me of that case down in Lousiana from quite a while back...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/jilted-doctor-gave-woman-hiv-jab-1330493.html

[Edited on June 7, 2009 at 8:53 PM. Reason : g]

6/7/2009 8:50:33 PM

jcg15
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how long does it take for the virus to die outside the body?

6/7/2009 9:17:29 PM

Mr Scrumples
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Answer

The best answer I have found for this question is from a CDC pamphlet, from which I extracted the following information:

HIV in the Environment

Scientists and medical authorities agree that HIV does not survive well in the environment, making the possibility of environmental transmission remote. HIV is found in varying concentrations or amounts in blood, semen, vaginal fluid, breast milk, saliva, and tears. (See below, Saliva, Tears, and Sweat.) In order to obtain data on the survival of HIV, laboratory studies have required the use of artificially high concentrations of laboratory-grown virus. Although these unnatural concentrations of HIV can be kept alive under precisely controlled and limited laboratory conditions, CDC studies have showned that drying of even these high concentrations of HIV reduces the number of infectious viruses by 90 to 99 percent within several hours. Since the HIV concentrations used in laboratory studies are much higher than those actually found in blood or other specimens, drying of HIV- infected human blood or other body fluids reduces the theoretical risk of environmental transmission to that which has been observed--essentially zero.

Incorrect interpretation of conclusions drawn from laboratory studies have alarmed people unnecessarily. Results from laboratory studies should not be used to determine specific personal risk of infection because 1) the amount of virus studied is not found in human specimens or anyplace else in nature, and 2) no one has been identified with HIV due to contact with an environmental surface; Additionally, since HIV is unable to reproduce outside its living host (unlike many bacteria or fungi, which may do so under suitable conditions), except under laboratory conditions, it does not spread or maintain infectiousness outside its host.

HIV is sensitive to fluctuations in temperature and the presence of oxygen. One place that HIV has been know to survive in is drug injection syringes since these are airtight and often contain blood from the injector.

6/7/2009 9:19:36 PM

dustm
All American
14297 Posts
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I'm pretty happy with my spelling of Bryan but if it was Brryan I would NOT be complaining.

Brrrrrryan

6/7/2009 9:32:28 PM

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