I don't consider myself old at age 62 and I am aware that my decades are lessening. With family health crises and deaths in my circle of friends this season, the epiphany that life could change in an instant triggered an aspiration to live closer and be a part of my son's adult life.
I am a 59-year-old woman. Almost 8 months ago I received an HIV-positive diagnosis. Unexpected, surprising, incomprehensible, and unfair. With these four adjectives I can describe that first impact that the diagnosis generated in me.
I left home when I was 14 and I started drinking and doing drugs. I always felt like 'less' than other girls. I'd get blood tests since I was sexually active, even if I wasn't having sex all the time. I lived with the fear of sexually transmitted diseases. There were times when I would go back home and my family always greeted me lovingly.
Following our trip to California, I continued mourning my life before HIV. In the midst of the daily funerals I would have for my "old self," I was still waiting, and in some ways hoping (praying) that this was not my reality.
I am the first deputy director for The Well Project and would like to take the opportunity to introduce myself. I identify as a Mexican mujer, immigrant, and a Southern California girl through and through. I am the mother of a 3-year old ray of sunshine, a loving and loved spouse, a sister, and an eldest daughter. I am also a lifelong survivor of HIV.
Who told God I was that tough? I'm really not though. I've been through a lot of stuff in my life. A lot I have yet to share. Right now I'm going through one of the toughest battles I've endured.
Hello! I'm Kenya. I'm 28 years old, married, I have three daughters, and yes, I am HIV positive. I was diagnosed four years ago, and I'm still standing, fighting, moving forward, and even with all the stones along my upward path, my tireless feet continue to climb! But it wasn't always like this...
It was 1985, I was 21 years old and President Ronald Reagan announced to the world the genesis of a new disease; G.R.I.D. or the Gay Related Immune Disorder, later known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS. I specifically recall hearing the words 'gay-related' so of course I thought I had nothing to worry about.
HIV/AIDS activist, advocate, mother, and wife born with HIV, Kimberly grew up unaware that she was living with HIV until a week before her 10th birthday. Both of her parents passed from AIDS...
I am understanding the trauma I have experienced and how it has affected me. I have done nothing wrong, there is no one to blame. Life circumstances create opportunities for personal growth.