“Lady Bug,” Lee called her then

This is the moment she learns the truth

canada goose coats The fifth grader with cornrows stepped from an elevator at canada goose outlet michigan Children’s National Medical Center and walked over the polished canada goose outlet 80 off tile official canada goose outlet https://www.canadagoosejacketonlines.ca floor she had first crossed in a baby carrier. She rounded a corner and opened the door to Room3400, its purposely generic name inscribed on a white panel: “MEDICAL SPECIALTIES.” canada goose coats

canada goose store Her adoptive mother, right canada goose outlet reviews hand on a metal cane, limped through the crowded waiting room as canada goose outlet in canada JJ pulled a Care Bears buy canada goose uk coloring page from a plastic file and sat down at a miniature table. She began outlining stars with a blue crayon, then spotted a pair of familiar performers. canada goose store

The 10 year old was wearing three canada goose outlet paypal puffs of a cherry blossom perfume and a kaleidoscopic dress she had pressed the night before. She looked forward to these visits to the renowned medical center in Northwest canada goose outlet online Washington, in part because she knew a treat from McDonald’s or Checkers would follow and, in part, because amid a young life rife with turmoil, she found reassurance in her hospital routine.

She knew her measurements would be taken and hoped to crack 5feet but not 100pounds. She was ready to breathe in and out, and then, without prompting, produce a vein from which blood would be drawn, a ritual she had canada goose sale uk mastered before learning how to steady a bicycle. She expected to be reminded of the bad germs in her body and told, yet again, that she must must take her medication every canada goose outlet florida day.

What JJ did not expect on that sweltering summer morning, 3,787 days after her diagnosis, was the conversation that awaited her in exam room No.4.

Since the AIDS epidemic erupted in canada goose outlet location the 1980s, hundreds of children born with HIV have been brought to this hospital for treatment by medical specialists who become surrogate aunts and uncles. The doctors, nurses and therapists buy them birthday gifts, attend their graduations and teach them how to take pills. They monitor their life defining numbers and strategize against a relentless canada goose outlet woodbury virus for which no cure exists. They keep them alive.

They do all of this without telling their youngest patients why. And when the time to tell them does come as they reach puberty, canada goose outlet belgium the staff plans for weeks how to do it, debating whether the kids are ready to know whether they can handle it.

canadian goose jacket And now they hoped that JJ could handle it, because she was about to learn the truth. canadian goose jacket

canada goose black friday sale The night before she walked into the waiting room, her mother, Lee, had lain in bed and prayed. Her stomach tightened as JJ, who often climbed in with her, slept on Lee’s shoulder. She knew what was at stake. Because of the vicious stigma still attached to HIV, doctors at Children’s would deliver the canada goose outlet boston news with a pair of contradictory directives: Don’t be ashamed, but keep the virus a secret. canada goose black friday sale

Canada Goose Outlet Her baby girl had long suffered through torrents of fear and sadness. How JJ would respond to the disclosure about her illness, canada goose outlet las vegas no one knew. Canada Goose Outlet

buy canada goose jacket cheap “Let her be okay,” Lee had asked God in the darkness and again canada goose outlet orlando as her daughter was called to the back of the clinic. buy canada goose jacket cheap

Canada Goose sale JJ was near death when canada goose outlet 2015 she arrived at Children’s as an infant. Canada Goose sale

Deprived of oxygen and breathing rapidly, she received antibiotics through an IV for 21days to treat a form of pneumonia that kills more HIV infected babies than any other condition. Her viral load, which is the amount of HIV in the blood, exceeded 2.6million copies 130,000 times the level at which someone is now considered “undetectable” and highly unlikely to spread the illness.

At the time, Lee was a bus driver and foster parent. The seventh of 12 kids, caring for children had been her life’s purpose since her mother gave her responsibility over a canada goose jacket outlet uk baby brother when she was 7.

canada goose clearance sale Lee, a stout woman with dark eyes and an easy laugh, raised three sons before fostering more than a dozen kids. She is stern but compassionate, not reluctant to raise her voice at a child but just as quick to wrap one in her arms. canada goose clearance sale

buy canada goose jacket Lee was already caring for one of JJ’s older sisters when the foster canada goose outlet toronto location agency called again. There was a younger sibling, canada goose outlet online reviews the woman explained. An infant. buy canada goose jacket

And another thing: “She’s HIV positive.”

canada goose Back then, Washington was still struggling to control the disease’s spread. Revolutionary drugs had reduced the risk of mother to child infections to less than 2percent if the virus was discovered before delivery. And yet, dozens of babies continued to be born with HIV in the nation’s capital, where, at the time of JJ’s birth and diagnosis, epidemic rates compared to canada goose outlet in vancouver those in parts of West Africa. canada goose

canada goose coats on sale But the disease didn’t frighten Lee. Her oldest son had contracted HIV as an adult, and an AIDS related illness had killed her ex husband, whom she cared for as his body failed. canada goose coats on sale

cheap Canada Goose Yes, canada goose outlet in uk she told the agency. I’ll take the infant. cheap Canada Goose

Canada Goose online The girl was bald, underweight and wrapped in a tiny hospital gown when Lee first saw her. “Her eyes,” she said, “pierced my soul.” Canada Goose online

Days later, she clothed the 4 month old in a pink dress with matching socks, shoes, sweater and cap, then drove her home.

canada goose clearance Lee learned that JJ and her siblings had been taken from their biological canada goose factory outlet vancouver family after allegations of molestation against an older brother. Her father was a goose outlet canada convicted murderer, and her mother had abused drugs. Lee never found out whether the woman canada goose outlet knew she was HIV positive at the time of JJ’s birth. canada goose clearance

canada goose deals Relatives made little effort to get the girls back, Lee said, so when JJ was 3 and her sister was 9, she adopted them both. canada goose deals

Lee told family members about JJ’s condition. Some demanded that she stay away from their children. “They didn’t understand,” Lee said.

To her, JJ was just another kid who needed love. “Lady Bug,” Lee called her then. JJ was trusting and kind, and her head’s favorite canada goose uk site spot was against her canada goose outlet uk sale mom’s shoulder. At 3, she sang gospel hymns canada goose outlet store quebec in church and danced in front of the pulpit. At 5, she made silly videos in which canada goose outlet miami she told stories about cucumbers and wiggled to a Waka Flocka Flame canada goose premium outlet song. She feared dogs and caterpillars and the mechanical mouse at Chuck E. Cheese’s, but never the needles that took her blood. She mastered a pose that she still employs today: half turned, hand on hip, elbow out, head cocked down and a grin so immense it makes her cheeks swell like plums.

She was happy, Lee said, except when she wasn’t.

Canada Goose Parka JJ threw violent tantrums, breaking cabinet canada goose outlet parka doors, busting holes in walls, smashing a laptop. A few years ago, her older sister, in a moment of spite, revealed to JJ that Lee wasn’t their real mother. The girl hated that Canada Goose Parka.


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