Jonathan, 30
When I Found Out:
January 4, 2008. I know you've heard it before…wear a condom, practice safe sex, yada yada yada…right? You think that since you are young, healthy, and just starting out in life you know everything and are invincible, right? You aren’t; and it doesn't matter who you are, what you do, or how well off you are.
Ways I am treated differently because I have HIV:
My family is more cautious around me, and at work I've been assigned to more of an administrative role rather than direct patient care or emergency services.
What I've learned from living with HIV:
I'm still learning. Understanding the disease and how it affects my life and those around me is an evolutionary process in constant motion. Life doesn't stop and neither can I. However, I can move forward and live with this.
What I think is the biggest difference between people's perceptions and the reality of living with HIV:
The biggest difference is this: there is no comparison really. It's night and day. The perception that all people with HIV are sick, dying, and taking tons of medications is dead wrong. I'm a good example. I'm as alive as I ever have been, I'm not taking meds and hopefully I won't for another 10 to 25 years. I'm looking forward to sitting on my porch when I'm 102.
Who I thought HIV affected before I learned I was positive:
I never thought of there being a common factor, as it is an equal opportunity disease. That hasn't changed. The only thing that has changed is my thoughts on how to integrate it within my life.
What I want someone who is HIV negative to know about me:
I am not the disease that rages inside me. Somewhere in the deepest part of myself is a space that is uninfected. I cling to hope because at times, hope is all I have. Do not judge me because unless you’re perfect, what right do you have to judge or make assumptions about me? I am as fallible, inspired, and as human as you are. I would not wish this on my worst enemy. So please live life, but live life knowing that you don't have to become HIV positive. If it happens, it happens, but it doesn’t have to.
