Three Year Survivor

Today was the day three years ago I found out I had HIV/AIDS. I'm going threw a little depression right now. It's all right and I'll know I'll survive this mood. Yes due to the newest HAART drugs I'm a three year survivor.


I'm a stronger person since I found out I have this disease. If I didn't take these drugs I'd be dead now. Unlike when AIDS first hit this country and doctors couldn't even identify AIDS. We have come along way in treating HIV/AIDS.


Back in the 80's it was called the gay cancer and later GRID. GRID stood for Gay Related Immuno Deficiency for everyone thought only gay people could get HIV/AIDS. Later Haitians and IV drug users started getting HIV/AIDS.


I remember some awful puns and jokes in the 80's about HIV/AIDS. One was.....


"What do you call a gay man in a wheel chair?"



Answer "RollAIDS!!"


There was another pun stating you were totally screwed if you were a Haitian, gay, IV drug user.


So much has progress since the 1980's. In the 1990's they found that AZT combated this disease. What the doctors didn't know was it would only work for a few months alone and needed to have other drugs to stay effective or it would stop working.


What I find sad living with this disease is we are slipping into the 80's attitude towards HIV/AIDS. Most young people feel that it is something they can live with for the newer drugs work so well. I also find it sad that the younger HIV/AIDS survivors don't even know who was Ryan White.


Today anyone living with HIV/AIDS some how get benefits from the Ryan White act. Ryan showed the world not only gay people and IV drug users could get AIDS but anyone could get HIV/AIDS.


I just would like to see more done in this country and around the world to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. Now more then ever we need better education. There needs to be a world wide needle exchange for IV drug users. Greater assistance for people living with HIV/AIDS in this country and around the world. We need to get more advertisement to bring HIV/AIDS again to the forefront of the public mind.


So today I'm going to allow myself to be a little bit down. I have also learned that I have built strong barriers around this heart. I truly hold a lot of emotions in and need to take a good look at myself and see what's in store and what I want out of life on this three year anniversary.