Scarred by Stigma - Earnest
August 10 2011 12:00 AM ET
Earnest, 51 | Hattiesburg, Miss.
Earnest fought in Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991. After his HIV diagnosis, he attempted suicide and was in a coma for several months. The lip-like scar on his cheek and the lengthy gash on his arm are a result of the attempt. Life continues to be a struggle. 'I can take the blood, the bullets, the bombs, but I can't take it when people look me in the face and say, 'You've got that thang.' You don't know how many times in the last two, three years I've heard that.'
