Dear Mr/Ms News Producer,
There she stands, surrounded by 40,000 people, chilled by the 38 degree air with thoughts of what she is about to do racing through her mind. Fear and excitement mix with anticipation and determination as she removes the cheap hoodie she’d bought at Walgreen’s. Under the hoodie she wears a t-shirt, as do other participants, but her t-shirt is different. She moves into the corral at the starting line of a half marathon, 13.1 miles of physical exertion that most people wouldn’t begin to want to complete.
Around her people begin to read the words on her t-shirt – “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, Except herpes, that happens everywhere.”
Some snicker, some turn away, some speak to her. That’s what makes the t-shirt different, it provokes a reaction because it’s the only one in that crowd that proclaims it’s wearer as an advocate for the millions of people in the US that are affected by the Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV).
The statistics will tell you that there are about 5000 people in that crowd that share her condition. There are thousands upon thousands more that have the Human Papillomavirus Virus (HPV) that causes her to have to anxiety about visiting her doctor every 6 months.
Yet here she stands…. in the face of ridicule, the object of stares, a person that others feel can be verbally humiliated simply because she wears a t-shirt that says “herpes” on it. Does she feel the pain those stares and remarks cause?
Most certainly she does. Does it deter her from her passion to educate others and eradicate the stigma
surrounding these sexually transmitted diseases? No, not for a single millisecond.
Why does she do this? Where does she find such courage? Why doesn’t she spare herself and just leave it to others who are out there that advocate and educate about these viruses? Maybe you should ask her… she’s coming to the next run for the Rock n Roll Marathon series half marathon on ???
Contact her at christine@iamrunnergirl.com she’d love to hear from you.
Respectfully,
Only one of the many she’s helped on their own journey already.