Miami Herald, Thursday, November 7, 1991
Tony Pugh, Herald Staff Writer

Tuesday night, that moment occurred 15 minutes into her speech about losing her husband and 3-year-old child to AIDS.

An entire classroom at Broward Community College's North Campus was listening as Stout described her son Blayne's reaction to seeing his AIDS-ravaged likeness in a bathroom mirror.

"He looked at himself and he punched at his face in the mirror. He couldn't stand to look at himself, and he was only 2 1/2 years old," Stout recalled, her voice faltering and tears welling in her eyes.

But before a tear could trickle down her cheek, she regained her composure. She went on to discuss the risks of unsafe sex, and her new way of life now that she has tested positive for HIV antibodies.

"Ten years ago, I was like them sitting there on that floor going to school, thinking I had the world on a string," said Stout, 35. "Maybe by looking at me they'll say, 'If she got it, I could get it.' Ultimately, I hope I'm making a difference in that final decision about using a condom or not."

Stout and Irwin Manzon, who has full-blown AIDS, were hired to do just that.

Through a grant from the Broward Community Foundation, the two are sharing their stories with BCC students through the college's HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Program.

Janet Parke, the program coordinator, said 13 BCC students have completed 22 hours of Red Cross training and now act as peer counselors in the program. They go to classes with Stout and Manzon and engage students in group discussions about AIDS. The program also operates an AIDS information hot line -- 968-2436 -- from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

"We wanted students to be informed, and we wanted to change their behavior," Parke said.

That's because Florida is second in the nation in the number of reported AIDS cases, and as many as one in 100 college students in South Florida could be infected with the virus, said Kent Peterson, the program's assistant coordinator.

In Broward alone, there were more than 4,000 reported AIDS cases as of September, Peterson said.

Stout, a retired interior decorator from Fort Lauderdale, didn't know her husband, Gary, was infected with the HIV virus when they met in 1984. By the time he died in 1989, he had lost 100 pounds, his appetite and his sanity. Her son died two months ago at age 3.

"I really scare the jeebies out of some people with my story," Stout said. "Unfortunately, some students need shock value before they get the message."

For students such as Jeffrey Sneed of Pompano Beach, who said he practices safe sex, Stout's personal story was more courageous than scary.

"I don't think I could have got up there," Sneed said. "I think I would have broken down, really. To go through the trauma she went through losing her husband and child, I think she was very brave."

Dianne Bonfiglio, 23, of Margate, agreed. "I think her story is incredible. The fact that she lived through that and she has all her marbles together is incredible."

Both Sneed and Bonfiglio estimated half of their friends practice safe sex, but Sheila Master, a peer counselor in BCC's AIDS prevention program, said the numbers might not be that high.

"Maybe only five people in this class might practice safe sex after this," Master said. "The few people we reach makes a difference. But obviously, not everyone is listening."

CUTLINE: REMEMBERING: Teri Stout chokes back tears as she talks with BCC students about the loss of her husband and son to AIDS-BOB EIGHMIE/Miami Herald Staff

CAPTION: PHOTO Teri Stout; photo: Teri Stout (b)

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