A sister girl is just tryna survive these +/- 100 years that I got and praying for Jesus to come back like they said, cus these people really down here wilding.
I would go to my clinic hiding my face and the day before visiting the clinic I didn't sleep. I kept on thinking how will I do tomorrow?? Who will I meet there?
Check out The Well Project's A Girl Like Me LIVE!, an interactive, livestreaming series created to advance health and wellness education among women living with and vulnerable to HIV.
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.
Sharing my stories and giving courage to others like me who can relate to some of my struggles and victories is a way I can give back to a community that has literally saved my life.
"You have HIV. HIV3 to be exact." That's what they said—HIV3. I didn't even know what that meant... No one explained it. No one softened it.
Being stigmatized with the closest friends and relatives... the people you really loved and trusted. It was really hard on me... But now I stand up straight to tell the world that I'm strong... Stigma can't kill my future.
They told me that my medication would kill me, not the virus. And I know for a fact they were wrong... When I came to the United States in 2001, I started treatment. Four weeks later, I was undetectable.
I left—not because I wanted to, but because I had to. I left to live.
To anyone who feels stuck, lost, or overlooked: Keep going. Your breakthrough might just be one bold step away.