I learned during the worst of the AIDS crisis how very very important it is to educate yourself and to advocate for your own health.

Lots of people are still alive today because they didn’t automatically do what doctors told them to do back before effective antiviral treatment existed for HIV.

Staying alive often meant listening to your own body, doing lots of smart research, and not treating doctors like they were gods.

I do wish your mother the very best. I hope both of you handle this time as well as possible.