Lying in a hospital bed, Jose P. Ramirez, Jr. (b. 1948) almost
lost everything because of a misunderstood disease. When the health
department doctor gave him the Handbook for Persons with Leprosy,
Ramirez learned his fate. Such a diagnosis in 1968 meant exile and
hospitalization in the only leprosarium in the continental United
States--Carville, Louisiana, 750 miles from his home in Laredo,
Texas.
In "Squint: My Journey with Leprosy," Ramirez recalls being
taken from his family in a hearse and thrown into a world filled
with fear. He and his loved ones struggled against the stigma
associated with the term "leper" and against beliefs that the
disease was a punishment from God, that his illness was highly
communicable, and that persons with Hansen's disease had to be
banished from their communities.
His disease not only meant separation from the girlfriend who
would later become his wife, but also a derailment of all life's
goals. In his struggle Ramirez overcame barriers both real and
imagined and eventually became an international advocate on behalf
of persons with disabilities. In "Squint," titled for the sliver of
a window through which persons with leprosy in medieval times were
allowed to view Mass but not participate, Ramirez tells a story of
love and perseverance over incredible odds.
Jose P. Ramirez, Jr., is a social worker in Houston, Texas. He
has written articles about Hansen's disease for the "Houston
Chronicle," the "Star Magazine," the "National Association of
Social Workers Newsletter," and other publications."
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