Alice, 51
When I Found Out:
November 1997, by sexual transmission from a man I was engaged to.
Why I decided to get tested:
I was applying for disability insurance and blood work was mandatory...who would have guessed.
Ways I am treated differently because I have HIV:
Some people are still ignorant and I forgive them. None of my friends ever try to “fix me up” with someone, even though I am single and available.
What I think is the biggest difference between people's perceptions and the reality of living with HIV:
People are under the misconception that once you have it, you don’t need to protect against it, but there are many different strains, and living with a compromised immune system makes you more susceptible to other infections. In addition, if that isn’t enough, there is always the chance your meds could stop working and you could die from AIDS!
Who I thought HIV affected before I learned I was positive:
Originally, I thought it infected IV drug users and the gay population. Now I know HIV/AIDS does not discriminate! It affects all of us...innocent children born with it, young adolescents who think they are immune, innocent wives and husbands, moms and dads, senior citizens, medical workers, straights, gays and yes, IV drug users to name a few.
What I want to tell young people who say HIV can't happen to them:
IT CAN AND IT DOES! It is an epidemic that needs to be spoken about again, none of us are safe and it only takes ONE bad decision for it to happen! When you are intimate with someone, and that includes oral sex, you are sleeping with everyone that person has ever been intimate with!
