This memoir of a dedicated doctor battling the AIDS epidemic in Haiti does more than chronicle the story of a horrible disease. It is a moving tribute to the abundant courage, resilience, and dignity of a people beset by tragedy.
Dr. Art Fournier met his first AIDS patient on an autumn afternoon in 1979. Of course, neither Fournier nor his colleagues at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital fully understood the chilling import of what they were seeing. They were simply confounded by the fact that the patient failed to respond to treatment and, ultimately, died. Over the next several months, scores of additional patients presented themselves with similar symptoms – and met the same fate. Beyond the medical similarities, there was another bond that grouped these patients together: they were all Haitian immigrants. The zombie curse had descended on south Florida.
As the AIDS epidemic unfolded around the world, Dr. Fournier witnessed the chaos, confusion, and blame that was to become associated with this baffling disease. Nothing in his background, education, or training prepared him for the journey that lay ahead. The death and misery were devastating, the disease frustrating and mysterious, and the spiritual toll as catastrophic as the physical. It soon became apparent that science alone could not win this epic battle.
We follow Dr. Fournier to Haiti where he searches for ways to treat patients with AIDS – not simply the physical symptoms, but the stereotyping and blame heaped on both the victims and even the doctors that tend to them. In large measure it is the generous spirit of a proud people that move and motivate Fournier, ultimately releasing him from his own zombie curse.
