Hey y’all, I’m Cupcake (aka Jaime)—a 45-year-old warrior woman, mother, grandmother, poet, and survivor currently living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but island-born on Guam. I was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in July 2018 after a terrifying health crisis that landed me on life support. After years of misdiagnoses and being dismissed by doctors who couldn’t see past their biases, my body finally said, “Enough.” I nearly died—but by the grace of God, a fierce will to live, and modern medicine, I didn’t.
Waking up to an HIV/AIDS diagnosis, two raging opportunistic infections (PCP & cryptococcal meningitis), a CD4 of merely 34 and a viral load over 717,000 was a brutal rebirth. I had to learn to walk, write, and breathe again—literally. My marriage fell apart the day I was intubated. But that’s when my healing began. I came out publicly while still in the hospital because I knew hiding would kill me faster than the virus ever could. And to my surprise? The love showed up.
Since then, it’s been a road paved with fight: spiritually, emotionally, physically. I’ve faced another OI (MAC/NTM), survived heartbreak, and parented through pain—but I’m still here. These days, I’m a full-time grandmother, disability warrior, and artist who believes in messy grace, big feelings, and belly laughs. I’ve spent a lot of time in solitude, but I’m ready to step fully into community now. I’m done hiding. I’m here to be seen, heard, and hopefully light the way for someone else who’s just beginning their own journey.
