the more i think about this fam's trip back to carville, the more i wanna make a flowchart
to illustrate how their visit was bittersweet
like, on one hand, they got to reconnect with her dad's past & explore the archives
but on the other hand, he had to deal w/ all the changes in appearance & atmosphere
it's like, his body may not be affected by leprosy anymore
but the emotional scars are still there
anywayz, their visit also made me think about how important it is to humanize ppl w/ Hansen's disease
like, stanley stein's patient-run mag, The STAR, helped bring attention 2 the issue & raise awareness
overall, i think this fam's trip back to carville was a great way 4 them 2 process their emotions & reconnect w/ their roots
This article is just too good to be true... I mean, I'm all for closure and family reunions, but 9 years in isolation with no internet or social media? That's a whole lot of unanswered questions 
What sources did the author use to confirm her father's experience at the center? Were there any interviews with other former patients or staff members who could provide more insight into his time there? And what about the emotional scars he mentions? How can we be sure those are real and not just a product of hindsight? I need some concrete evidence before I believe this story 
. They did mention how he wasn’t really reading his daughter’s face because he was looking at her instead, but I think they could have done more to help him process everything 
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but still surrounded by barbed wire fences. feels weird seeing ppl with disabilities being forced to live in isolation its sad. also how does one even process the fact that they built a mag for people with hansen's disease like what was their thought process behind it? 
So like 20% of people diagnosed with leprosy are from India & 15% come from Africa 
... Leprosy is a major public health concern in many countries still ( especially in Southeast Asia & Africa) 
... The author's novel "King of the Armadillos" is actually part of a bigger trend, where more authors are exploring their family histories with Hansen's disease 
That's like 70% of its original capacity... The institution has seen some major changes over time, with efforts to reduce stigma around leprosy and promote more humane treatment approaches 
my dad always told me wut the leprosy center did 2 him & how it shaped him into the person he is today 
still a big part of american history, but also 4gettin wut ppl went thru there 