I just attended USCHA 2021 (United States Conference on HIV and AIDS). I really enjoy these conferences, there's so much to learn and experience. This year, due to Covid, USCHA was virtual. I'm...
It's World AIDS Day. Again. And I find myself in the soup of emotions that comes with this day every year. Grateful. Relieved. Sad. Inspired. Frustrated. Proud. Resolved. And too many other things to...
This month Akira, my youngest son of 13 years old, and I travelled to Antwerp for a filmshoot for the 'Undetectable equals Untransmittable' (U=U) campaign in Belgium. Whilst in the train towards...
My name is Maria Mejia and this is my story with HIV! I kept my HIV diagnosis a secret from almost everyone for nearly 20 years. Diagnosed at 18 in 1991 and contracted HIV at the age of 15 in 1988, I...
Have you ever wondered what it's like to be transgender? Living with HIV? In the rural South? Each of these issues alone can be challenging. Together, they are my reality—and it's crucial for...
Yesterday I had my first doctor's appointment for my HIV care in a year. Between the pandemic, remote learning with my daughter, and moving from NYC to upstate, life has been hectic to say the least...
I've been living with HIV for (going on) 22 years now. I almost can't believe it, seems like a lifetime ago. I was just 27 when I was lying in a hospital bed dying; my children were just babies. When...
I will be 64 next month and living with HIV for 36 years. I had a lot of illness at the beginning of my diagnosis in 1990 when I was only 39 years old. I thought I'd die soon and never see my son grow...
I'm going to go out on a limb and assume something. Don't get mad if I'm overstepping or overstating. I know it doesn't apply to everyone, but it's common enough. It's just a little something that I...
Hi all, as an aging member of our community I have seen and dealt with a lot of issues. Yesterday during a group conference call regarding health and aging with HIV, I learned that a drug I took for...