In my dual profession as an educator and health care provider,
I have worked with numerous children infected with the virus
that causes AIDS. The relationships that I have had with these
special kids have been gifts in my life. They have taught me
so many things, but I have especially learned that great courage
can be found in the smallest of packages. Let me tell you about Tyler.
Tyler was born infected with HIV: his mother was also infected. From
the very beginning of his life, he was dependent on medications to enable
him to survive. When he was five, he had a tube surgically inserted in a
vein in his chest. This tube was connected to a pump, which he carried in a small
backpack on his back. Medications were hooked up to this pump and were continuously
supplied through this tube to his bloodstream. At times, he also needed supplemented
oxygen to support his breathing.
Tyler wasn’t willing to give up one single moment of his childhood to this deadly
disease. It was not unusual to find him playing and racing around his backyard,
wearing his medicine-laden backpack and dragging his tank of oxygen behind him in
his little wagon. All of us who knew Tyler marveled at his pure joy in being alive
and the energy it gave him. Tyler’s mom often teased him by telling him that he moved
so fast she needed to dress him in red. That way, when she peered through the window
to check on him playing in the yard, she could quickly spot him.
This dreaded disease eventually wore down even the likes of a little dynamo like Tyler.
He grew quite ill and, unfortunately, so did his HIV-infected mother. When it became apparent
that he wasn’t going to survive, Tyler’s mom talked to him about death. She comforted him by
telling Tyler that she was dying too, and that she would be with him soon in heaven.
A few days before his death, Tyler beckoned me over to his hospital bed and whispered,
“I might die soon. I’m not scared. When I die, please dress me in red. Mom promised
she’s coming to heaven, too. I’ll be playing when she gets there, and I want to make
sure she can find me.”