I kept my HIV diagnosis a secret from almost everyone for nearly 20 years. Diagnosed at 18 in 1991 and contracted HIV at the age of 15 in 1988, I told family and friends I had leukemia.
I became an activist more than 20 years ago and became a tireless advocate for people living with HIV. I am a Global Ambassador and Community Advisory Board member for The Well Project, an international nonprofit for women and girls living with or affected by HIV. I am the founder of two international Facebook support groups in English and Spanish with more than forty thousand active members, an HIV counselor, motivational speaker, and co-author of From a Warrior's Passion and Pain, a real-life account of my battle with HIV and AIDS which is my diagnosis.
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