Country Is an Autobiographical Story of Abraham

¶ … Country is an autobiographical story of Abraham Verghese, a man from India via Ethiopia who came to adopt the small town of Johnson City, Tennessee, as his new home.

In postgraduate studies he focused on infectious diseases, in part because it would open more professional opportunities to him, a foreign MD. A mentor took him with him to Tennessee, where Verghese and his wife quickly settled into rural, Southern life. His best friend was a gas station operator, and the emergency room staff enjoyed teaching him to "talk Southern."

Before moving his family to Tennessee, Verghese had read a few journal articles about the mysterious disease that as beginning to be called "AIDS," but it was a "big city," mostly New York and San Francisco. When he came to Johnson City to work, he never expected to be dealing with AIDS, and certainly not in more than 80 patients, but that is what happened.

Verghese worked with people who had AIDS through the most difficult first years, when prejudice against those who had the disease was prevalent. One case that touched him deeply was that of Will Johnson and his wife. Will had had emergency bypass operation with lots of blood loss and multiple transfusions needed. He had the surgery only weeks before a way to test blood supplies for the HIV virus had been developed, and he got infected blood. By the time he realized he had AIDS, he had infected his wife as well.

The stigma was so great in 1987 that the Johnsons traveled 2 1/2 hours to Johnson City so he could be treated without people in his home town finding out. Will Johnson was a precise man who told Verghese every possible relevant fact in precise detail and order, giving Verghese a very complete, if long, picture of the man. Will's body had little resistance for the virus, possibly because his body was already so stressed from the surgery and near-death experience, and he was sick with fever and swollen lymph nodes within four weeks. As time went by Verghese was struck by the terrible loneliness AIDS had inflicted on Will Johnson and his wife: they hadn't told their children, hadn't told their grandchildren; couldn't tell their friends. The stigma was just too great.

One of the intriguing parts of the story of Will Johnson was that it caused Verghese to reconsider whether he was prejudiced toward any of his AIDS patients. He had never escorted another AIDS patient to his room, or carried his suitcase for him. He wondered if it was because something about the man resonated in him or something about how he acquired the virus made him more likeable to him.

Will Johnson was Verghese's patient during a pivotal time for treating AIDS patients. Remarkable treatment discoveries were made seemingly every day, giving Verghese hope. He had real proven tools he could use to help keep his AIDS patients healthy and extend their lives.