It is with great honor that I accepted to be one of the ambassadors for NWGHAAD. As a Global Ambassador for The Well Project, I was the perfect fit. The Well Project is a fountain of information and the only website that I know that caters to women’s and girls’ issues. This hits close to home for me. I was infected in 1989 at the age of 16 and did not know it…if it wasn’t for the test I got to enter a program for troubled teens called Job Corps I would not know have known I had HIV and I might have died. :( I firmly believe that I am alive because I found out at an early stage and from that...
MariaHIVMejia's blog
Recordando el 2014 y lo que viene para el 2015... Como nuestros pensamientos pueden mejorar nuestro estado.
Going over 2014 and what is coming for 2015 How changing your thoughts can improve your wellbeing Recordando el 2014 y lo que viene para el 2015 Como nuestros pensamientos pueden mejorar nuestro estado
This is the physical transformation I had. First pic I was a little girl that felt loved and cared for by her mother…At the same time this little girl was getting molested by her uncle and grew up being told she was worthless and that she would never amount to anything. Whore was a common word she heard in her home towards her and her mother! She had many material things which her father thought was being a good father. My father was darkness in the home and light of the streets. Forgiving my father was part of the transformation. I love my father. Second pic I was 15/16, in a street gang. I...
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.
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...