THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 4, 1994 TAG: 9411020143
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 3B EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAM STARR, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Two years ago Rebecca Dodge led a fairy tale existence.
A devoted wife and mother, devout churchgoer, part-time physical education teacher and Jazzercise instructor, Dodge lived happily in Salem Woods with husband, Ryland, and their four children. Her days consisted of working, carpooling, fixing meals, tending to her family - things that only concerned her immediate circle.
Life couldn't be better, she would think.
Then she received a phone call that shattered her near-perfect world. It was brother David calling from Richmond. ``I have AIDS,'' he told his big sister. ``I don't know how long I have to live.'' Dodge still remembers the shock she felt upon his disclosure.
``We had absolutely no idea he was at risk,'' said Dodge, a vivacious woman. ``At first everyone was devastated. You always think about AIDS happening to someone else. People in general want to think they won't know anyone with AIDS.''
It took time, but Dodge worked through the shock and denial of her brother's illness and devoured almost everything ever written on AIDS and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Life for Dodge is still great, but it has taken a different path. After a lot of painful soul-searching, she changed the way she thought about AIDS and people who have the disease.
Last year she became a certified AIDS educator with the Red Cross and speaks about AIDS education and prevention to PTAs, churches, schools and company boards. She also discusses AIDS, on an informal level, to women who take her Jazzercise classes.
Dodge doesn't seem like a typical AIDS activist, if there is such a thing, and readily admits that never ``in a million years'' did she think she would be speaking about AIDS. Her brother is alive and proud of how Dodge is trying to combat ignorance and fear of the disease.
``I was willing to do whatever God wanted me to do, like talk about fitness or be a lead in a soap opera,'' she said with a smile. ``It's so funny in an ironic way. I'm not the typical person you'd associate with AIDS - so I think I can make AIDS education more accessible to people.''
She and her husband also started a weekly Christian support group for family and friends of people with AIDS, to offer hope and comfort to loved ones who have to deal with the disease on a daily basis.
``One man who comes has a wife and child with AIDS,'' said Dodge, 42. ``His wife got it from a blood transfusion while giving birth and passed the virus on to her son through breast milk.
``We want people to know up front that there's hope for the coming months.''
As a Christian and a member of Courthouse Community United Methodist Church, Dodge said that her work with AIDS has strengthened her faith and made her less judgmental and more accepting of others.
``It's not who you are, it's your behavior that puts you at risk,'' she said. ``AIDS can strike anyone in any family. We can't afford the luxury of not educating our children about it.'' MEMO: If you would like to attend the AIDS support group, call 495-8807.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by PETER D. SUNBERG
Rebecca Dodge, whose brother contracted AIDS, will be teaching a
special Jazzercise class at 6:30 p.m. today at Strawbridge
Elementary School, 2553 Strawbridge Road, for ages 13 and up. Door
prizes will be drawn. A minimum donation of $5 is asked, and all
proceeds will benefit the Hampton Roads 1994 Walk for Life, an AIDS
benefit, which is Sunday.
by CNB