Gary
Shortly after Gary's parents married in New York in 1948, his father was diagnosed with pulmonary TB – for the second time. Fearing that others would find out about this stigmatized disease, Gary's father traveled to Denver, Colorado for an 18-month hospitalization. As a new bride who moved with him, Gary's mother experienced the fear of losing her husband in an era prior to antibiotics; the many hours of physical separation from her husband; and social isolation from her supportive network of family and friends back in New York.
In Gary's words...
“The second time my father had active TB, he didn’t want anyone to know. At that time tuberculosis was highly stigmatizing and in some parts of the world and some cultures it still is.”
“TB is absolutely curable. If you or a family member has a concern about tuberculosis or if you have a cough that just won’t go away—especially if you sometimes cough up blood— get seen, get care, because the care is available, it is effective and that can mean an entire life not just spared but made whole.”
“People who have TB that are undergoing treatment need to be reminded they are going to be cured, and be supported through it, and the most important thing is not to fear it.”
Gary, King County