The below is part two of a two-part blog. Read part one.
HIV cure work is something that is beginning to fascinate me. Having the opportunity to be in spaces where this is the topic of discussion, I have learned so much about the virus. Over the last 17 years of living with it, I have done really well in learning how to manage enough to stay alive – I had never really considered all of the scientific things that are happening inside my body. To think that there are people all over the world who have been working on this long before I even got diagnosed in 2008 blows my mind! I'm thankful for those people.
It is because of those brave and bold individuals that we have the evidence we need to confidently navigate an HIV diagnosis today.
I'm also thankful for the people who have participated in the research – even before standards of ethics were mandated, and they might not have known what was going on. I'm grateful. It is because of those brave and bold individuals that we have the evidence we need to confidently navigate an HIV diagnosis today. Especially in types of studies where one consents to interrupt treatment for the sake of research. I have built a life around access to treatment, which leads to my medication adherence, which is rewarded by an undetectable viral load, which has been amazing for my mental health. I don't spend the day worrying about my immune system or if my last sexual encounter was going to be the cause of someone else's HIV acquisition. It would be a very hard decision for me to shake my own world up – for the sake of research. Those people are the real MVPs.
In some cases, those people are children. During one of the highlights of my trip to South Africa, we got to meet with Dr. Gabriela Cromhout at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal. She was telling us about how the work they are doing in baby cure is suggesting new knowledge in the area of cure. One thing that I found very interesting is the fact that male babies were less likely to acquire HIV at birth than females, but over the long term, female babies are able to better control the virus. At the very least, what that told me is that maybe the virus works differently in each of our bodies, and because of that, we must make it our business to be in spaces where the research is happening. And by "we," I mean women. The babies (and researchers!) might be onto something.
I learned during our visit with Dr. Cromhout that there have been reports from different parts of the world of people who have been able to stay off HIV treatment and sustain an undetectable viral load for years at a time. This was so hopeful to hear! My next thoughts were, how did they even figure that out? At my age, I can't even lie. This would be so hard for me.
I also had the firsthand honor of talking to mothers living with HIV who had also given birth to babies who are living with HIV and who were coming in for appointments that day. These mothers travel to the clinic (for one mom, it was about two hours one way) to get their treatment, and some of them have even been gracious enough to allow their children to participate in the baby cure research. They expressed feelings of fear and guilt for themselves and their children. Those sentiments can be felt in any language or dialect. By the end of this day, I had a chance to speak to a researcher and doctor who explained the findings, but closer to my heart, I got to see and hug some of the people who participated in it because they are the GOAT!
