Hi! Thanks for visiting my AIDSWALK fundraising . My name is Steven Ballesteros and I am 16 years old. I have participated in the aidswalk since I was 3 years old and in the most recent few have ran the 10k or 5k. I do this in memory of Lahanna Shamek Heyde, my adoptive sister, who was born HIV+. A link to her story lies below.

page.http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue2/2000/08/17/35763-aids-finally-overcomes-tenacious-spirit/

Born in 1977 and passing away in 2000 I knew Hanna for only a few years but she is an integral part of who I am today. My guardian angel and a large insipiration to my compassion, public speaking, and advocation for awareness of not just AIDS/HIV but many other issues. Hanna was a speaker on awareness for much of her life starting in her teens. I love her very much and have come to be a strong and able believer in compassion and love, much of which is credited to her. I would greatly appreciate sponorship and support of my fundraising in the support of SAAF, my running, and the memory of not just Lahanna but the memory and help to survival for all those inflected with HIV/AIDS. Past, present, and future. Thank you.

LAHANNA’S POEM

A few years before her death, Lahanna wrote a poem about her early life:

1977 in December

I was too young too remember

But by what I was told

My mother was 22 years old

She’d run away as a child

And now was going wild

It was the year of Rock and Roll

The drugs took over her soul

There were three kids before I

Who would suffer and would say

With hunger, chills and thirst

Her drugs came first

I know that there are girls and there are boys

Who have good parents and have good toys

As a small child I was not protected

And in the long run was rejected

The many drugs she had injected

Caused her and me to get infected

So I grew up sick and alone

In many foster homes abused

Through trouble and changes I got used
 

-Lahanna Heyde.

My participation in AIDSWALK means I will be joining thousands of friends, families, and community members to walk in support of those living with or affected by HIV/AIDS or in memory of loved ones lost to HIV/AIDS. AIDSWALK benefits the programs and services of the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation (SAAF). Many thanks for your support and please forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate!