Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this piece are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the position of Positive Women’s Network – USA.

June 4, 2018

by Cheryl F.

To me the term “long-term survivor” is talking about anyone who has been living with HIV for a long, long time. I understand that for some people that may be 10 years. For some, it may be 20 years. There are even people who have been living with HIV for 30 years. Wow, now that is really a long-term survivor. Good for them.

For me, it has been over 20 years. I recently realized that it has been that long since my diagnosis. I had never really counted the years, but one day it hit me that I have been living with HIV for 20 years. This surprised me.

When first diagnosed, I was hoping to live for 10 years. Then the new meds came out and here I am more than 20 years later. Living with HIV for this long has been a long road. I started out being so sick and so uneducated about HIV. Turns out I was diagnosed with full blown AIDS at the time. I know they don’t use this term today, but that’s what the girl at the clinic told me. I mentioned something about being HIV+ and she told me, No, you have full blown AIDS. I thought for sure that meant I was going to be dying very soon.

The newest medications had come out right before my diagnosis and the doctor told me just take these new meds, three times a day, with food, and you will be OK. You can beat this. So that’s what I did. I took every dose, every day.
It took me a long time to get back to just some kind of normal health. It was two full years before I was at my full strength again. I took this time to learn all I could learn about HIV and AIDS. I educated myself with every resource I could find about HIV. I joined every group that had anything to do with the letters H. I. V.

Somewhere I came along someone that was doing HIV testing and educating. I thought, this could be my way to be a part of this world. Make a difference. I got the training I needed to do HIV testing and counseling. I have been doing this now for more than 12 years. It gives me the opportunity to talk to and teach anyone and everyone I meet about HIV. It has given a purpose to my life and I feel as though I am meaningfully involved.