In the late '80s, Kathy Fry awoke from a dream. At the time, she said, she was in the middle of a divorce and knew that she would soon have to leave the family business and find work elsewhere. She recalls spending nights thinking and praying about where her future would take her and wondering what she would do. Then, one night without warning, visions came to her in a dream. Still vivid in her mind, she said she saw herself working with AIDS babies. Fry said she thought little of it at the time. In fact, she brushed it off as just another reason to go back to school and get her nursing degree at TCU. Ten years later, her dream has become a reality. "One day I was reading the classifieds and saw an ad looking for a nurse to work with AIDS babies." Fry said. "I thought, 'OK God, what am I supposed to do now.'" Fry decided to follow her dream. She applied for the position at Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth, Inc., but she was too late. The position had already been filled by another nurse, and Fry's dream would have to wait. Her wait, however, was short. Days later, she was notified that the nurse who had taken the job had changed her mind and the job was hers if she wanted it. On Jan. 2, 1996, Fry started her first day at work. "The social worker came in and told me which of my patients were still alive," she said. "At that time, what you would see is that everyone would die."
"I have to watch a lot of good people die," she said. "But, I also get to see a few children grow up to live healthy lives." As case manager of the pediatric AIDS project, Fry works with all pregnant mothers who are HIV-positive and live in the eight-county region surrounding Fort Worth. She said she helps connect mothers with the resources they need to both carry a child and continue to treat their disease. For some, she said, this often means finding adequate housing, medical assistance, legal counsel and nutritional support. Others often need assistance with household duties, doctor visits, purchasing prescriptions and counseling services, she said. "No matter what the situation, we try to meet the needs," she said. "We look at each case individually and work to provide as much support as we can." Fry said mothers who are HIV-positive are referred to Catholic Charities once they find out they are pregnant. Most referrals come from the Fort Worth health department, local hospitals and private physicians. In the past, Fry said preventing HIV-transmission during pregnancies was not always easy. However, with new treatment regimens, more mothers are now able to prevent the transmission and live longer lives. Fry attributes much of the success to the use of protease inhibitors in new treatment plans. Although mother and child share the same blood during a pregnancy, the placenta is able to act as a strong barrier against transmission. "They no longer all die," she said. "Many are able to give natural births and live to watch their children grow up healthy and happy." Last year, 27 children were born through the program, and only two tested positive at birth, Fry said. The two who tested positive received no interventions, and Fry said the mothers' knowledge of the disease came only right before delivery. However, Fry said getting mothers to understand their prevention options is not always easy and often requires a lot of work. If mothers are not tested early, there is little that can be done to help, she said. "Sometimes, mothers don't want our help," she said. "It is hard to help some people make changes in their lifestyles, but I have to keep trying." Although Fry is able to see success in the program, she said she still has serious concerns about the disease. "The perception is that AIDS is a thing of the past," she said. "However, the numbers in this area are actually rising." Fry said the number of documented AIDS cases in Fort Worth and surrounding counties is considered extremely high compared to other regions in the nation. She also said the number continues to rise, and she believes she has yet to see that number peak. Fry said at least 2,000 AIDS cases have been documented in the region from the time it first appeared until 1996. Because of this large number, the region qualified for Ryan White funding under a Title I provision which allocates federal funding to AIDS-related programs and treatment centers. She said the money that Catholic Charities receives helps her and others provide care, prevention efforts and educational awareness. Although Fry has an office at Catholic Charities, she can rarely be found there. Instead, she often spends her days on the streets meeting with mothers and helping out in any way that she can. "I never know what I'll end up doing in a day," she said. "I wake up and go where I am needed." Often dressed in jeans and a shirt, Fry hits the neighborhoods, providing counseling to families and monitoring treatments. She also provides free testing for anyone interested or concerned. Because the virus can affect any population of people, Fry said the mothers often have very different backgrounds and come from varying social classes. "You don't wear your best dress and heals," she said. "You often have to approach it from any way you can." Fry said she has learned every situation is different. In her four years at Catholic Charities, she said she has worked with mothers of all ages and races. She has also worked with mothers who were prostitutes and others who had substance abuse problems. "This disease can affect anyone," she said. "You have to just go in and approach it as if you are going to help them." Fry starts her day by sending her family off and then packing a change of clothes for the road. She clips her pager to her waist, and she is out the door. She never knows who will call or page her in a day, but she is ready for anything, she said. All of her mothers have her pager number, and most know to use it if they need anything at all. Her working environment is constantly changing, and she is always surprised at where she ends up, she said. "One time, we offered free testing at a mother's home," she said. "We were set up on one end of the porch while family members were selling drugs off the other end." Other times, Fry said she has had to track mothers down at crack houses in order to meet with them and discuss treatment options. Allison Moreland, a community health nursing faculty member at TCU, said instances like this are exactly why Fry is best suited for her job. "Those little blue eyes focus on you, and you know that she is real," Moreland said. "She has an amazing ability to work with anyone she meets." Moreland said each year she invites Fry to speak to her HIV/AIDS course because she believes that her students can benefit from the stories Fry shares. "She is the most wonderfully accepting and selfless person," Moreland said. "The stories she tells help people find better ways to live and give them the hope they need to face each new day." Fry said she tries to do whatever she can to help mothers find the resources they need to live better. Instead of forcing mothers to follow a set plan, she said she often works with mothers in order to create treatment options that individual cases are willing to follow. "There are no easy answers," she said. "And, there are no set recipes either." However, Fry said it is very important for people to follow their treatment plans once it has been chosen. "If people aren't compliant with treatment, the virus often mutates and finds ways to overcome the medicines," she said. Fry worries that many people don't really realize how many options there are for treatment and assistance. "Many people are not empowered enough to be a part of their health-care decisions," she said. "Many fail to see that they can be a voice in their decisions." Although Fry loves her job, she said it is often hard to separate it from her life at home. "I tend to be someone who puts everything into my job," she said. "It is hard to think about it all at the end of a day." Now remarried, Fry lives with her husband, Floyd, and her youngest son, Kirk, in Albedo, a small town outside of Weatherford. She also has a 21-year-old son named Kyle and a 19-year-old daughter named Kellien. As a parent, Fry believes it is important to talk to her children about sex and the risks of AIDS. "A colored atlas of sexually transmitted diseases hangs on the wall of my bathroom," she said. "When my children have friends over, it is always interesting to see what they think of it and the bowl of condoms I've put in there as well." Fry said education and prevention are the real keys to fighting this disease. "This is a preventable disease," she said. "You don't have to get this." Although most of programs she presents for Catholic Charities are abstinence-based, she said it is important to tell children how to protect themselves if they are going to have sex. "As a parent of adolescents, I would prefer that my children protect themselves and actually live rather than to make a decision to tell them not to have sex," she said. "Regardless of where the information comes from, we have to educate people." Fry said educating children and adolescents is crucial to the future prevention of the disease. "Adolescents by virtue of developmental tasks go through a period of exploring their sexual identities," she said. "If we don't prepare them early on, they may not have the information they need to protect themselves." Fry said there are no set guidelines for presenting information about the disease. "You have to be creative about how you get the message across," she said. "You try to work within your constraints in order to educate others." JoAnna Curtis, the assistant director of the Anne Simon Reeves Children Center, said Fry's ability to relate to others often helps her get her message across to others. "She has a great perspective on life, and she brings that to her job," Curtis said. "She develops the trust that is needed to help others face difficult decisions." Fry said telling someone that they have the virus can be especially difficult. As case manager for the center, she has to meet with everyone she tests in order to give them their results. "It is a devastating diagnosis," she said. "They don't hear one word that you say after you tell them they are positive." Fry said giving results often requires preparing herself for how people will react. "This disease is so emotionally charged," she said. "There is a certain amount of unpredictability and concern with every person." The training she received through the center and her past experiences in hospice care have helped her work others through the grieving process. "There is an overwhelming sadness when anyone who finds out they are positive," she said. "Many are not only angry at others, but some even turn their anger inward and become suicidal." The Texas Department of Health requires Catholic Charities to give testing results in person. It is often the only way to tell how much help is actually needed, Fry said. "It helps you gauge their reaction," she said. "Then, you can help them work through their emotions and grief." She said no matter how much she prepares, it is never easy to watch people die from the disease. "I go to a lot of funerals," she said. "I only hope I can get to a point where I no longer have to go. "As much as I love what I do, I would love to work myself out of a job." Although she is unsure if there will ever be a cure for the disease, Fry said success can be measured in the lives of those she works with. "I know that in small ways, we are making a difference," she said. "People are learning that they can control this disease and even prevent it." She believes the work, however, is never-ending. "We have come a long way, but we are still losing people," she said. "We cannot give up yet." For Fry, this means simply continuing to live out her dream. "I will work as long as I think I can help," she said.
Matt Jones |
Four years later, Fry, 45, now serves as the case manager
of the pediatric AIDS project for Catholic Charities. She said she has
never regretted her decision to take the job and tries to deal with the
pain she sees every day fighting the disease.| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |