It was a story that made international headlines, a St. Louis area baby injected with the HIV tainted blood by his father who didn’t want to pay child support.
More than 20 years later, Brryan Jackson is amazed by his health, but his positive spirit and faith.
Brryan’s story seemed unbelievable in 1992, when he was just 11 months old, his father, a hospital technician, injected him with HIV tainted blood.
The goal was to kill Brryan so he could avoid paying child support.
“Anyone in my condition would die in three months they gave me five,” said Brryan Jackson.
But Brryan has defied the odds, even after developing full blown aids at the age of five. The road to get where he is now has been bumpy. When he was a toddler the side effects of one of his many medications robbed him of 70 percent of his hearing.
It was a story that made international headlines, a St. Louis area baby injected with the HIV tainted blood by his father who didn’t want to pay child support. More than 20 years later, Brryan Jackson is amazed by his health, but his positive spirit and faith. Brryan’s story seemed unbelievable in 1992, when he was just 11 months old, his father, a hospital technician, injected him with HIV tainted blood. The goal was to kill Brryan so he could avoid paying child support. “Anyone in my condition would die in three months they gave me five,” said Brryan Jackson. But Brryan has defied the odds, even after developing full blown aids at the age of five. The road to get where he is now has been bumpy. When he was a toddler the side effects of one of his many medications robbed him of 70 percent of his hearing. Brryan also says the misinformation about his disease bred cruelty in the classroom. But today at the age of 22, Brryan is not afraid and he’s not angry. He’s even forgiven his father who could be released from prison in just a few years. “I think there is salvation for everyone, and I find myself praying for my father’s salvation.” Brryan credits his Christian faith for his positive attitude, and since his early teens, he has used his diagnosis to reach out to others; especially to children. His work even caught the attention of the Nickelodeon channel, which honored him with its prestigious halo award. But Brryan says there was a point in his life when he was suicidal. “I had three knives in front of me but I realized there is hope, and it’s not about what you have it’s what you can give.” Brryan is still in college and is considering a career in church ministry or politics. He’s even thought about attending medical school. Brryan also says the misinformation about his disease bred cruelty in the classroom.
But today at the age of 22, Brryan is not afraid and he’s not angry. He’s even forgiven his father who could be released from prison in just a few years.
“I think there is salvation for everyone, and I find myself praying for my father’s salvation.”
Brryan credits his Christian faith for his positive attitude, and since his early teens, he has used his diagnosis to reach out to others; especially to children.
His work even caught the attention of the Nickelodeon channel, which honored him with its prestigious halo award. But Brryan says there was a point in his life when he was suicidal.
“I had three knives in front of me but I realized there is hope, and it’s not about what you have it’s what you can give.”
Brryan is still in college and is considering a career in church ministry or politics.
He’s even thought about attending medical school.
The reason Stewart injected his son with the HIV virus was, he didn’t want to pay child support to his former wife.
Stewart was convicted of first degree assault upon Brryan on December 6, 1998 and was sentenced to life in prison in January of 1999. He is eligible for parole, but to date has not been granted parole.
In 1996, Brryan developed full blown AIDS.
In the time since developing AIDS, Brryan has lost some of his hearing due to the medical treatment he was undergoing; along with the stigma of HIV/AIDS in the early years of the epidemic, when the public knew very little about the disease.
Now with more public education about HIV/AIDS, Brryan’s is better, but still faces challenges in living a normal life.
To aid those with HIV/AIDS, Brryan has started a foundation, called “Hope Is Vital”.
Brryan And His Mother Talk About Living With HIV/AIDS
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