The Oatman-Gaitan Family

In 1987 Debbie Oatman became a very nontraditional single mother when she adopted an HIV positive baby. Together they faced an unsympathetic community, discrimination and even death threats. Yet, when she learned that another HIV positive child and his biological brother needed a home, Debbie didn’t hesitate to bring them into her family. Over the years, through her activism, the community has come to embrace Debbie and her boys. Now this single mother with four sons (she has one biological son) is facing a challenge that she cannot tackle alone. The safe and happy home that she has tried to provide these boys is literally sinking into the ground. Built on a shoddy foundation, their home has become a death trap to Debbie’s sons’ delicate immune systems. As the foundation sinks beneath them, the walls of the house shift and crack.