The resent passing of another HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus) testing awareness day this summer made me think about some of my old clients. I was a state certified HIV test counselor for the state of Michigan at the agency where I worked. This meant that I administered HIV tests for those people who believed that they may have been put at risk for contracting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. This was a stressful job, and some days, down right awful. The awful days, as you can imagine, were the ones when I had to tell a client that they had tested positive for the HIV antibodies. Thankfully, I only had to tell a few people, but those few individuals are forever carved into my mind. I will never forget them or the day that I had to tell them that they most likely were infected with a life altering infection. These people were young, old, and middle aged. They were people not unlike me. Hard working, dedicated to family, goal oriented, future driven. They were beautiful people that are going through life with an ugly, incurable illness. Unfortunately for me, since these individuals tested anonymously, I will never know their true identities and will probably never know how they are and if they are living healthy productive lives, or suffering and alone.

Guess what? You could be infected. You could be at risk. You should be one of those clients that walks into an office and asks to be tested. HIV doesn