Marissa's blog

I've lived in Southwest Florida (SWFL) since 2004 and I've experienced a few storms with my family since being here. Charlie was my introduction, not even having lived here a month. I moved to Cape Coral about two years ago, and this was the first storm that was headed for the west coastline of Florida.

I haven't written in what feels like an eternity; not even sure I've written something that's been publicly shared at all in 2022...

When I applied to join the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), I had little faith that I would be chosen as I clearly have no scientific background or knowledge, like not even a little.

It's inevitable that anything virtual will have some hiccups but I was honestly just so excited to be in attendance that I didn't care. It was a bit annoying but the experience heavily outweighed the...

The day we all anticipate for yummy food and store deals but the one day out of the year where many intentionally pause to remember all they are thankful for!

I've kinda been in weird place mentally and emotionally. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with my physical health, but that's a story for another day. You'd think by now some of the negative responses...

Let me start by warning you that this will be a pretty long blog; we've got three weeks of misery to cover. First, I want to acknowledge that HIV can be a tricky virus. That's apparently the reason they haven't come up with a vaccine or a cure. BUT Covid, Covid took me on a very wild ride!

Geez!! Anyone else feeling really really tired, exhausted and unmotivated?! I have been for awhile, and I can't even blame covid although it certainly hasn't helped. I was talking with a coworker...

May 23, 2021 marked five years that I've been living with HIV.

I have been HIV positive since 2016, almost five years. When I thought about sharing my story and status publicly, I knew I would eventually attend conferences where I could meet many other amazing women living openly with the condition.