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This article assimilates my quality of life also. I go back to the late 70's when my partner passed from the Plague" and KS. I did not start medicine until the 90's, beginning with AZT. I was told all bad news about life expectancy, warnings to not share an elevator and even not attending my Mothers Funeral because of risk of transmission. I have all the side effects of the early drugs and live a poor and bare existence on Social Security. Is there any relief fund from pharmaceutical.
I got the AIDS virus in 1983 and I’m still here. What a long hard slog it’s been. Lost a lot of friends and made others along the way. In 1986 we were told we had two years to live. That was a long time and a lot of AIDS related problems be it health, death of friends, stigma, PTSD. Now there is the corona virus. Feels like just one more thing. We long term survivors are so fortunate to have lived through the dark times and come out the other side. Kudos to the strength and courage it’s taken
My close friends started to get sick and die in the early 1980's in NYC. I tested in 1985 when it was available. I was not surprised to find out I was Positive. I later found out I had a genetic mutation that made me resistant to HIV, but not immune. I started meds in 2004 when I finally had a viral load of 22,000. I have been undectable since then. I was fortunate to have my 35 year non-profit career and I continued on until my retirement in 2018. Extremely fortunate, I know.
Nearly 66 years old and greatfully undetectable, I feel so privileged to have lived through the history of a shameful existence, to a life of a proud fighter for the remedy to the effects of a virus and for a global acceptance of it as a harmful microorganism and not a curse from God. So Excited to read the POSITIVE live to be lived when being NEGATIVITE. My loving handshake to those honest and strong beautiful people who take the time to tell their story!!
What a great article. As someone infected since '84, diagnosed in '92, many of the comments resonate with me. As a straight female, my perception is that the ignorance, and stigma is more pronounced in the heterosexual community. Dating is hard. Deciding when to tell is hard. Happy to share my story if interested.
Scrab55
What I was looking for is how long they were HIV+. I have been HIV+ for at least 30 years. What I learned from this article is about the organs aging. I will ask my doctor about that next time I see him.
March 25, 2020 • Texas