In Honour of Isobel king and....wait for it....$19,000 raised

I was working at the HIV clinic in Waterloo today. There is both a Guelph-based clinic and a Waterloo-based clinic founded by Dr. Chris Steingart and I in 2006. I am pretty proud of that partnership and very proud of the work that he and his wife, Michelle Steingart do for folks that suffer with addictions in our communities. They have saved thousands of lives. On the way back to Guelph this evening, I felt a wave of discouragement. I met my first HIV positive patient in 1987. I have been fighting for this population of patients ever since. At times the battle has been very, very difficult. Sometimes difficult things happen to you and no one is at fault and sometimes they happen because of systemic issues that must be addressed. Injustice is rampant in the world and people affected by HIV have been the victims of horrific inequity, injustice and stigma as have many other marginalized and stigmatized populations. I have to decide if and how I will address a great injustice that has marginalized and stigmatized my patients and me, yet again. We have been separated from the provincial funding we fought so hard for years ago and that separation has made providing the highest standard of care to this beloved population very, very difficult. The physicians who care for this population in the region have carried on and our patients are well but at times, the discouragement is heavy. When I arrived back at the Guelph clinic, there were two gifts waiting for me: one is this lovely quilt made by Isobel King who passed away this past spring. Her family and friends described her as one of the kindest, gracious and giving people they had ever known. Isobel made this quilt for the United Church of Canada's Beads of Hope Campaign. The red ribbon is the signature symbol of the fight against HIV/AIDS and the solidarity of people living with HIV/AIDS. Isobel's gift reminded me of the fight and why it is worth suffering for. Thank you Isobel. The second gift was a bag of beautiful cotton masks left by an anonymous donor. Our fundraising campaign for Bracelet of Hope has just surpassed $19,000. The Facebook part of that campaign has raised $11,000. The rest has come in by personal donations and cheques also dropped off at the Guelph office ( that famous back door). There is goodness and kindness and love around every corner and in every person that strives to serve others, that shows compassion, selflessness and generosity, that fights for the rights and wellbeing of our most vulnerable people, that reaches out to strengthen a fatigued doctor turned AIDS activist and COVID virus freak. Thank you for lifting me up today. You reminded me why I started this battle and why I will continue to fight. Not much to say about COVID 19 tonight but I would like you to study this graph again: https://www.covid-19canada.com/graphs I will gently whisper that it sure looks like Ontario is flattening a second curve. Please stay strong and stay at it. The re-focus of your efforts is paying off. Staying home, staying isolated, wearing masks and cancelling social gatherings including Thanksgiving is tremendously difficult and very selfless. But that is what good people do. Six thousand to go folks. I have no doubt that we will get there. Donate here if you can: https://www.facebook.com/donate/2707157766204565/1892121307596677/ And then.... we ride. Beyond gratitude. Anne-Marie Please share. For non-Facebook users, you can find this post here: https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/ Check out a great place for mental health support here: https://familyserviceguelph.on.ca/ For local assistance with anxiety and depression: www.here4help.ca CMHA WW Website: www.cmhaww.ca Here 24/7 at 1-844-HERE-247 or www.here247.ca. And for post-secondary students, Good2Talk https://good2talk.ca/