Seventeen years ago, Linda was happily awaiting the birth of her first child.
Her world came crashing down when she discovered her then-husband was frequenting a prostitute.
"I was six months pregnant when my boss's wife came to me and told me that she learned that my husband visited a call girl," said Linda (name changed), a 54-year-old Richmondite. "I was tested right away for HIV and AIDS.
"I soon found out I had contracted HIV."
At the time, Linda was attending nursing school but since her diagnosis, she had to quit school and can only work part time.
Since that horrific discovery, Linda has suffered many complications due to HIV including pneumonia, broken bones and drastic weight loss.
Thankfully, she said, her daughter was born healthy and normal.
When the News reached her on the phone, Linda had just gotten out of the hospital after suffering from another serious bout with pneumonia and from broken ribs.
Linda credits A Loving Spoonful for helping her regain some strength and weight. A Loving Spoonful is a nonprofit organization that provides free, nutritious meals to people living with HIV/AIDS in Greater Vancouver.
Every week, volunteers deliver approximately 1200 frozen meals and more than 250 snack packs to men, women and children.
"When someone with HIV or AIDS is really sick, it's hard to cook yourself a really good, healthy meal," Linda added.
"I wasn't gaining weight but since A Loving Spoonful has been providing me with healthy meals, I've gone from weighing 95 pounds to 107 pounds and I'm feeling better."
Every Tuesday, a volunteer from A Loving Spoonful delivers seven days' worth of frozen meals to her home.
"The food is so good and there is so much variety," she said.
"It doesn't cost me a thing - when you only receive $200 medical allowance a month, it doesn't leave much for nutritious food."
A Loving Spoonful is a godsend for many clients of Sarah White, an outreach and education coordinator at Heart of Richmond AIDS Society.
"When my clients are really sick, it's not possible for them to get out and go buy groceries and then come home and cook, they are too weak so some just won't eat," White said. "If they don't eat, their immune systems are even more compromised.
"A Loving Spoonful is a lifeline for them."
White sees clients as young as 11 and as old as 75, most infected through no fault of their own.
Richmondites can help those living with HIV/ AIDS by simply going out for lunch or dinner on Thursday, March 29 during the 18th Annual Dining Out for Life.
More than 250 restaurants from Whistler to White Rock and across the Fraser Valley will contribute 25 per cent of their sales that day to people living with HIV/AIDS.
A couple spending $60 at a participating restaurant will provide four meals for four people through Friends For Life and A Loving Spoonful.
For more information, go to www.diningoutforlife.com/vancouver/restaurants#256.
mhopkins@richmond-news.com
