Eventually, I won the right to attend school, but the prejudice was still there.

The first five to six years of my life were spent in and out of the hospital.

I came face to face with death at thirteen years old.

I'm just one of the kids, and all because the students at Hamilton Heights High School listened to the facts, educated their parents and themselves, and believed in me.

Rumors of sneezing, kissing, tears, sweat, and saliva spreading AIDS caused people to panic.

Eventually, I won the right to attend school, but the prejudice was still there.

Mayor Koch, of New York, was the first public figure to give me support.