What an amazing opportunity I was given again by my baby The Well Project ( A Girl Like Me)! It was so wonderful to be able to share with 200 HIV positive women from all over the US. In the 25 years that I have been living with HIV I never even dreamed that I would be in the same space with so many inspirational positive women. I was able to do something I really never do for myself and that is to vent with another human being about my HIV and women's issues, besides my wife Lisa and my mother. 3 It was so incredible and I am so grateful to The Well Project for always making things happen for...
MariaHIVMejia's blog
I want to start this blog by saying this: if you are taking Atripla, remember that everyone's body is different...I am talking about my own experience and this is not meant to scare anyone, but to make them more aware of a medication that is in Atripla called "Efivarenz". I was very happy to get on Atripla. I was just coming off a 10-year regimen with Trizivir that I decided to change because it was enlarging my red blood cells and I loved that Atripla was a once a day pill! I was so excited, although I had been warned about the possible side effects like: vivid dreams, anxiety, depression and...
Many wonderful things are happening. My book is out From a Warrior's Passion and Pain, my marriage to Lisa, my change of medications, and being honored by Latino Commission on AIDS with The Dennis de Leon Voz de Compromiso Award. Muchas cosas especiales me han pasado. Mi libro desde El dolor y la pasión de una guerrera, mi matrimonio, cambio de medicamentos, y el gran honor que recibí de La comisión Latina contra el SIDA el premio Dennis de Leon Voz de compromiso award.
UPDATE OF MEDS: As some know, I “once again” asked my doctor to change my medication regimen! I took Trizivir for 10 years. It was a good medicine but I noticed that my red blood cells were enlarged. I have always been adherent, but I asked my doctor to change me to Atripla almost 4 years ago. This was also a good medicine, but I knew it was time for a change because of the Sustiva in it. I am so happy that I am proactive with my treatment and I discussed with my doctor that I wanted to change to Tivicay and Truvada. I started last night and I had no side effects and did not wake up today with...
I wanted to share with the whole world my special moment and also announce that Lisa and I are married! :) We got married in New York. I was also honored by the Latino Commission on AIDS on May 13th, 2014. The Dennis De Leon Voz de Compromiso Award is a very special award because he was a fierce activist that I hope to be like one day. Here is a video of the wonderful night at the Cielo Latino Gala and my acceptance speech for the award:
This April will be my 25th year anniversary living with HIV. The last 2 years of living with HIV have been the hardest for me and many do not know this. I don’t like to show or tell people when I feel ill, and it is very frustrating for me to know that I am doing everything I am supposed to and then some, and still feel like I am a baby - exposure to any virus or bug and I am sick once again. It seems I haven’t been able to catch a break as far as getting ill and I have written before about feeling stuck…never completely ill for a hospitalization and never 100 percent healthy to feel good. For...
As I sat with my wife, Lisa, and watched Dallas Buyers Club, I was like 'wow! what wonderful actors!' They really did a good job! And it was part of history. I lived through most of that in those times when this condition was known as GRID, or a condition for prostitutes or drug users. But nothing touches Philadelphia for me. :) It was a very deep movie and it touched me deeply! I guess it is a matter of taste, not taking anything away from DBC. I was thinking that night after we watched the movie and reading one of the many thousands of emails I get from all over the world and from all ages...
This is me in one of the worst times of my life...a lost girl around 15 years old, a gang member, a thug! I hated myself! There are really no pics of my past. I am not a single particle of that girl anymore...she suffered! She was in pain! She would hide her body and her face...she felt ugly and worthless!!! She believed what she was told...SHE WAS A NOTHING AND NEVER WOULD AMOUNT TO ANYTHING! She was just lost and hurting, and that hard image was just an armor so no one would hurt her or get close to her. This was me, Maria Teresa Mejia. I was a little worm that became a butterfly and now I...
Here is my bilingual video blog about the my HIV International Group and VIH Grupo Internacional on Facebook: International group for people infected and affected by HIV AIDS in English Grupo internacional para personas infectadas y afectadas en Espanol The Well Project
Well, where do I start? 2013 was a year of growth, pain and lessons! This has been one of the hardest years in my life, but it was a gift as well because I became even stronger and set new goals for the rest of my life. I wrote my book and it is done and in the last editing process. I lost my baby Flea that was with me for more than 12 years...he is in doggy heaven. I also had a lot of little health episodes with the flu and Ecoli that was freaking scary!!! But, AGAIN I overcame everything , and I realized what is really important in my life. I took a mini break from activism in a full scale...