Liz Kass and Brad Gregory

LK asks BG about the AIDS crisis and the current pandemic. BG shares that in the late '80s and early '90s there was not a lot known about HIV and shares that it was universally fatal.

BG: "I think the metaphor that people are using is 'we are all in the same boat now' but the truth of the matter is we are in different boats. Some of us are in rowboats and some of us are in yachts, but we are in the same storm and we are, I think, pulling together in ways that we have not before."

BG asks LK how her experience then has shaped her experience now. LK talks about her medical career being influenced by HIV.

LK: "I get to work with this remarkable group of people and nobody comes there and chooses to do that kind of work by accident."

BG remembers a patient who came from prison and shares that they broke down barriers between people who would not normally mix. BG: "Frankly, I wouldn't have missed the experience for the world. And, yes, I spent many days coming home and dissolving into tears after a workday but I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Because I felt like I was doing something. I felt like I was bringing some talent and ability that I had to...the battle that our community was engaged in."

BG: "It's pretty amazing the way our lives are woven together." LK talks about how HIV changed from a disease that was killing people universally to a disease that became manageable because of pharmacology and science.

LK remembers playing in a string quartet at a memorial for people who passed away. She shares that she has played in chamber music ensembles as a way of expressing memorial without words.

BG shares that the experience at hospice brought out the best in people for patients, family members and the people who worked there.

LK and BG talk about medical professionals who dealt with the HIV crisis dealing with the current COVID pandemic.