HIV : The AIDS Memorial on Instagram

When AIDS broke out in 1981 the whole world was alarmed, what with the number of people afflicted by the deadly virus. And because no one knew what it was, it caused worldwide panic and fear and along with it, a stigma.

At the time very little was known about the disease: only that previously healthy people died of a rare lung infection, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), on top of other unusual infections. Later the phenomenon will be called as the AIDS epidemic. Meantime the statistics continued to rise at an alarming rate which was not helping the situation at all.

To the rest of the world, these people—mostly gay men—are just that: statistics, just one of the many. But to most friends and families of the AIDS victims the battle is heartbreaking, the loss unspeakable. Worse, some of the victims had been shunned by their loved ones and were left to die alone.

Fast forward to today, more and more people are coming out to speak about their grief over losing a loved one to the disease. Or, in certain cases, how their loved one had survived and is continuing their fight. Some of them took to Instagram to share their stories. The account is called The AIDS Memorial and it aims to honor the memory of the people who died from AIDS.

Take a look at some of the stories and its accompanying photographs below.

1. Steven and Joshua Patrick’s story – they are both gone now but through the memorial the couple’s story lives on.

The piece was for Steven written by Joshua Patrick Wells. He had a way with words and I particularly love this line he wrote: “We all have these perfect moments in time. They are what make up a life.” I couldn’t agree more with him but what really broke my heart was Steven’s question to him, “Will you love me forever?” I guess that at one point in our life we all ask this question.

Read the couple’s story in its entirety below.

#StevenErnst (Nov 30, 1965 – Nov 8, 1996) as remembered by the late #JoshuaPatrickWells ▫️”There was a time in my life when I was so in love. When I was O.K. There is a particular day that I can recall. I had always dreamed of having a Citroen and one day Bret and Steven found one for me. I bought the car instantly and named her Alice. She was charcoal grey with burgundy interior. A few days later I was leaving downtown. The sky was covered with grey storm clouds and you could smell the rain coming. I was driving up a freeway on-ramp that slanted up towards the sky-at that moment in time my life was perfect. Everything was right. Just then a song came on the radio that reminds me of Steven. Here are the words…. “….They were never really mine… Those smiles you gave away…so easily. In the last rites of our love I turned myself away….All I really need…the mercy of your lies…and the clouds to break…and the clouds to break.” I first met Steven over 12 years in June of 1984. I had just returned to Los Angeles after attending university in San Francisco and was leaving in a few days for Europe for the first time. Neither one of us were even old enough to legally be in the club where we met. A year later we began a relationship and fell in love with each other. It was a magical time before AIDS, Range Rovers and cell phones existed. Steven is the only person within my entire life That I have fallen in love with. He is a part of the foundation of who I am today. He is inside of me. I thought of so many things to say. To claim my time in his life. To verify my existence with him and I realized there is no need. He is now and will always be within me. Even though at times I hated Steven as much as I loved him, still, I can not envision my world without him in it. AIDS has tought me a new emotion. It is to laugh and cry simultaneously. It has also shown me my own mortality and the scheme of things. But in the thick of it all we have looked the monster in the face, all of us. We as a people, with thunder in our hearts , have come together. We have taken responsibility. We have taken care of our friends, our loved ones and our families….” (TBC)

A photo posted by The AIDS Memorial (@the_aids_memorial) on Dec 20, 2016 at 10:59am PST

(Continued) “……We have taken care of each other and Steven is a part of that. One night, as Steven lay dying, someone shared a memory they had of him and we all began laughing. We all have these perfect moments in time. They are what make up a life. Thornton Wilder once wrote, “WE ARE THE NOW, THE EVERYWHERE AND THE ALWAYS.” There is no way to put into words what I feel, for love is everything. One night many years ago, Steven and I were laying in bed together and in his puppy dog way he turned to me and asked, “will you love me forever?” Steven , I love you. I love your eyes,your face,your touch,your smile,your laughter. I love your soul. I even loved your tears. For everything you ever gave me and for everything you took away….I will love you forever. I think it is important for us to remember that not that long ago our community was dropping like flies. That every week we were attending funerals and one after another we all lost a huge part of our lives. We stood up,cried,screamed,shouted,begged and stole. We did what was needed to try to literally save our lives. And after all that we find ourselves in a time where people are attacking the very core of that battle….love. This is not to be taken lightly. Not at all” – #StevenErnst as remembered by the late #JoshuaPatrickWells #whatisrememberedlives #neverforget #theaidsmemorial

A photo posted by The AIDS Memorial (@the_aids_memorial) on Dec 20, 2016 at 11:08am PST

2. The caption of the photo below was brief but equally heartbreaking. But you will see through the picture that the couple was in love and happy and at the end of the day, it is what matters the most.

The contributor of the memorial called them friends, “people who at one time I thought would be in my life forever.”

“It is bittersweet to share this photo of the holy union of David Krumroy (brother of my friend, Chuck) and Bill Leavens. As you can imagine from this photo, they were deeply in love. Through Chuck, David and Bill were my friends, people who at one time I thought would be in my life forever. Instead, both died of #AIDS in 1989. To date, 35 million people have died of AIDS. Another 36 million remain untreated. This crisis is not over” – by Lynne Dianne #whatisrememberedlives #neverforget #theaidsmemorial

A photo posted by The AIDS Memorial (@the_aids_memorial) on Dec 18, 2016 at 4:40am PST

3. Behold the lovely story of Tim, someone who had no qualms about attending a gay pride parade in his speedo! Bold, warm, and beautiful Tim.

“…. I met #TIMCLEMENT or “TIMMY GIRL” as we would all affectionately call him. TIM had a magnetic personality that drew everyone to him – as I write this I’m just flooded with memories of all the FUN times we have shared together in the early 90’s’! TIM was a beauty with classic good looks and in the late 80’s was a very successful model with ZOLI. He was best known for his speedo swimsuit ad for HOM. He went on to attend design school and started working at DONGHIA. After several years he left and started his own design company which is what he was doing when he became ill in 1994. What I remember most about TIM was his bravery in speaking out,acting up and not being ashamed of being HIV+. I can see him vividly at the 1994 GAY PRIDE PARADE on the HIV+ float in his speedo and sneakers! and after me telling him how courageous i thought he was him saying “I’m just doing what I can to take away the stigma of this disease and peoples perception of what it means to be HIV+”. The last time I saw TIM I went with his friend Geo to visit him at Cabrini Hospital NYC. His sister was with him. We sat and talked and tried to make the best of what we knew was not a good situation, he was so ill, losing his eyesight, early dementia and incredibly weak. Fighting until the end he wanted to get up and walk around and that’s what we did until he got tired and eventually walked us to the elevator. I cry as I write this because I knew it would be the last time i would see TIM and as the elevator doors began to close I looked in his eyes and said “I love you”. I can still see him standing there in his hospital gown and socks with his beautiful sister holding him up on one side and him steadying himself with his ivy drip stand on the other smiling at me and saying “I love you” and I said nothing on the elevator ride down. TIM lost his battle on Oct 5th,1995 – he was 38. TIM had asked Geo to spread his ashes off the coast of Ft. Lauderdale (which is where he grew up) and being the dedicated and loyal friend that Geo is that’s exactly what he did. As TIM said to Geo “That way, I’ll always be playing with the dolphins.” – by Scott Fowler @scottfowler1967 #whatisrememberedlives

A photo posted by The AIDS Memorial (@the_aids_memorial) on Jan 9, 2017 at 12:35pm PST

4. Mr. Lee – his brother’s words were both moving and powerful. Heartbreaking. In part, his brother said, “…he missed how far computers went to in an office to in every home… he missed seeing his niece and nephews grow up and the chance to see their kids… He missed…no really it’s us that missing this awesome, gorgeous, funny, loving brother… uncle… son… he was one of a kind… miss you Mr. Lee.”

“My oldest brother #LeonAnthonyBrooks who was such a old soul as a kid they called him Mister Lee. He was born on this day in 1958. This is his graduation picture of #OaklandTechnicalHigh…class of 1976, my favorite of him. He died of #AIDS complications in 1991. …he missed CD burning and music and movie piracy…he would have loved it… he missed Facebook, twitter and I-phones..4G, he missed how far computers went to in an office to in every home..he missed seeing his niece and nephews grow up and the chance to see their kids..He missed…no really it’s us that missing this awesome, gorgeous, funny, loving brother..uncle…son..he was one of a kind…miss you Mr. Lee”- by Jesse Brooks #whatisrememberedlives #theaidsmemorial #aidsmemorial #neverforget #endaids

A photo posted by The AIDS Memorial (@the_aids_memorial) on Jan 31, 2017 at 4:22am PST

Want to read the rest of the stories? Head over to The AIDS Memorial on Instagram. Please don’t forget to follow my IG account and A4A’s official IG account as well.

Want to know more about the timeline of HIV/AIDS? Click here. You may also check out the AIDS incidence, prevalence, and deaths in the United States from 1981 to 2000 here.