The 17-year-old daughter of a man who contracted HIV from contaminated blood products found out about her father's condition while rooting through letters in her parents' bedroom.
The girl, a daughter of Dominic and Anne - pseudonyms used at the tribunal - was 13 at the time. There were big words in the letter she did not understand. She panicked. "I thought he had just received the letter and he would be dead within the week," she told the tribunal yesterday.
She looked up HIV in a dictionary and asked her older sister about it. Her sister said she should speak to their mother. She was absolutely shocked when her mother confirmed the diagnosis.
"I didn't even understand what the disease was, only that it killed gay people in America. It killed Freddie Mercury, and I was a big fan of Queen," she said.
She spent the following year making herself sick. "I know now it was just trying to get rid of things that I just did not want," she said.
Her dad's illness interrupted her schooling. She would visit him in hospital late into the night and get into trouble for not having homework done.
Asked how she felt about seeing her father's health deteriorate, she broke down. Regaining composure, she said: "It's really hard".
The tribunal's sole member, Judge Alison Lindsay, thanked her for attending and told her she was very brave.
The girl's older sister also gave evidence under the name Barbara. She was 16 when she was told her father was HIV positive and was devastated by the news. She thought he would die quickly and feared her mother might also be infected. "I thought they were going to die and I would be left to take care of my siblings. I was just terrified of what would happen to us as children," she said.
The family thought each Christmas would be their final one together. "HIV has destroyed our family. I've three cousins and an uncle who was HIV positive. One of them is dead," she said.
She hoped the tribunal would answer their questions and those responsible for what happened would be held accountable.