You can get angry and get into a firefight, but you don't get anywhere by doing that, but

you get a lot done when you educate properly and you give them information and you show

compassion and understanding.

Jose Ramirez, Jr. is the author of the memoir, Squint, My Journey with Lapercy, which leads

readers through the mystery illness that took over his life as a teenager in the 1960s,

his diagnosis at age 20, and the years he spent at the only hospital for people with

Lapercy or Hanson's disease in the United States.

Carville, as the facility was called, housed hundreds of patients with Hansons, but it was

far more than a hospital.

It was a fully contained world with churches, recreational sports fields, libraries, a bank,

a post office, and a cemetery.

But this world was incredibly isolating and often demeaning, leading many of the patients

of all ages and races to form supportive communities within its barbed wire walls.

After his discharge, Jose traveled the world as a social worker and advocate for people

with Hanson's disease and has held leadership positions in many advocacy groups, including

the American Lapercy Mission and Idea, an international organization of people affected

by Lapercy.

Because new cases have been discovered in Florida and the media, stand-up comics, memes, and

quippy tweets have yet again been contributing to damaging misinformation, Jose will share

his devastating and uplifting journey as he talks with us about the misunderstandings

around this sensationalized, mythic, biblical disease that 97% of people are naturally immune

to and can now be cured quickly with the right medication.

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