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Sweet's dinner tradition started during the 'dark ages' of AIDS

She might have been dressed as Cindy Lou Who, but Dr. Donna Sweet couldn't fool a roomful of her patients and guests. The still recognized her as Wichita's foremost expert and caregiver in the treatment of AIDS and the HIV virus.

She might have been dressed as Cindy Lou Who, but Dr. Donna Sweet couldn't fool a roomful of her patients and guests. They still recognized her as Wichita's foremost expert and caregiver in the treatment of AIDS and the HIV virus.

"She's indefatigable," said Wayne Bryan, artistic director of Wichita Music Theatre and a guest performer at Sweet's annual Christmas party. "She's so caring."

Sweet is a professor of internal medicine and clinician at the KU School of Medicine-Wichita. This year's party was held in the guild hall at St. James Episcopal Church in College Hill. Sweet and her staff started the event 22 years ago, in what she calls the "dark ages" of AIDS. At the time, major breakthroughs in medication to control it were still years away and AIDS patients were dying at a rapid rate. In a mix of practicality and gallows humor, condoms were part of the table decorations.

Back then, many AIDS and HIV patients were shunned by family and friends, and Sweet wanted to make sure they had at least one Christmas party to attend. That's changed for many, as the large number of children and other guests of patients at this year's party indicate (the condoms are gone). But for some patients, "This is their own family Christmas," said Sheryl Kelly, the Midtown Clinic administrative coordinator. "It's very accepting."

Improvement in the efficacy of medication, meanwhile, can be seen in the fact that two-thirds of the party-goers had attended in previous years. Another measure of that progress: at least one guest was a young woman with HIV who had given birth to a perfectly healthy baby.

"We used to have very sick and dying people," Kelly said. "It's become more of a chronic disease."

Sweet, her staff, businesses, and private individuals donate their time and money to put on the annual feast, which this year included 10 turkeys and as many hams, a case of sweet potatoes, green beans, corn, rolls, gravy, and several flavors of pie.

"I love the people and there are a lot of my friends who come here," said Colleen Didier, one of a half-dozen women who start preparing food the day before. "It's something we can give. Our guests love it."

A dozen students from Heights High School volunteer each year to wait tables. Some rushed over after taking their ACT tests.

"They enjoy it," assistant principal E.J. Santos, the faculty sponsor, said. "Those that have done it before talk about the event to those that are new. They like going back."

Heights usually sends a choir, too, but that group had a conflict this year. Instead, Bryan read "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," with Sweet portraying Cindy Lou. Bryan said he's been an admirer of Sweet since arriving in Wichita from New York in the 1990s to find her leading an "enlightened" battle against AIDS.

In one corner, Santa Claus posed for more than 200 photographs, with guests receiving copies printed on the spot. Another annual tradition is a Christmas ornament given to each guest as they leave.

"Some of these people, me included, have 22 of these," Sweet said.

Clay, a patient of Dr. Sweet's since 1984, attended with his mother and nephew. "It brings people together," he said of the party. "Dr. Sweet does a good job. I look forward to it."

As does Sweet, who could be seen across the hall giving a departing guest a kiss and early invitation: "See you next year."

 


KU School of Medicine-Wichita