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Jorge Gomez

Mrs. Crist

English 4

12 October 2017

Learning to live with HIV

When someone hears the term Human Immunodeficiency Virus, what is the first thing

that pops into their head? Some might think of death, some might think of gay men, and others

might think of fear. No matter what comes to mind, it is rarely something positive. The stigma

with HIV is that it can and will kill a person and the people who are diagnosed with the virus will

live a short miserable life. If they were to really know what it is like to live with HIV, then they

would have a different perspective. Which brings up the question, how does living with HIV

affect someones life?

The stigma that used to come with having HIV is that people are with the virus tend to

just be unhappy and that they will not be able to find someone to love, etc. Nowadays people

have a somewhat more positive attitude towards it. Since we now know more about it and the

treatment is definitely working, almost everyone now knows that it is not the end of the world.

This is all thanks to ,French scientist Francoise Barre-Sinoussi who was one of the scientist to

discover the HIV virus. (Christensen) Although, the virus is still deadly and others should avoid

getting it, you can live a long joyful life if you happen to contract HIV. Articles speak about such

people, much like Johnathan Blake, who was one of the first people in the UK to be diagnosed

with HIV (Tucker). When Blake was first diagnosed, he kept a positive attitude and has

continued to keep a positive mentality. From that positive mentality, Blake was able to move

forward in life and was able to find love himself. Here he is 30 years later after being diagnosed
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and he may not still trust the medication, but he trusted it enough to continue moving forward

and being successful in life.

Along with people living longer and happier, the medication has been getting better and

better. When HIV was first discovered, many people succumbed to the trials of unknown

treatments and sadly lost their lives either from the treatments, the virus, or a mixture of the two.

Since then, we have made many advances in the treatments patients are given. Now patients are

given antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART is simply a combination of antiretroviral drugs (ARV).

ART drugs have been used since the mid-1990s and are the reason why the annual number or

deaths related to HIV has dropped over the past two decades.( Division of HIV/AIDS

Prevention) Sadly a cure still does not exist for HIV/AIDS, but with the ART drugs, people can

live a healthy life and greatly reduce the chance of spreading the virus to their partner or partners

if they take the treatment consistently and correctly.

As has been noted, people can and do live happy lives with HIV, but along with the

stigma that comes with having HIV, comes the stigma of how someone contracted it. Typically

when someone hears that someone else has HIV, they tend to think that that person sleeps around

and cannot maintain a monogamous relationship. In some cases, yes this is true, but for most

cases, the patients that have the virus do not fit this description. Some people unfortunately get it

from a partner that decided not to inform them about their condition, which by the way is not

only sad but also illegal in many states. Others may not know they have HIV and transmit it that

way. While others may contract it from their mother who has HIV, or get it from some other

bodily fluid such as urine, sweat or blood. Just because a person has HIV does not mean they

sleep around with multiple partners.

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With all things considered, how does HIV affect someones life? With the points noted

previously, it can be quite difficult in the beginning. With time and understanding, it becomes

easier and eventually it becomes just another part of their day. People are living just as long as

people without HIV and are proving that treatments are getting better. Not only that, but the

stigmas that come with HIV are getting progressively better. That is all thanks to people

becoming more informed. Therefore, living with HIV is not what it used to be. It has become

easier to cope and live with for all people.

Works Cited
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Christensen, Jen. HIV Discovery 'Will Change Your Life Forever'. CNN, Cable News

Network, 4 June 2013, www.cnn.com/2013/06/04/health/lifeswork-barre-

sinoussi/index.html.

Tucker, Eleanor. Living with HIV: Six Very Different Stories. The Observer, Guardian

News and Media, 22 Mar. 2015, www.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/22/living-with-

hiv-30-years-on.

Content Source: Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, and National Center for HIV/AIDS,

Viral Hepatitis, Sexual Transmitted Diseases and Tuberculosis Prevention, and Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention Date last updated: May 15, 2017. HIV Treatment Overview.

HIV.gov, www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/staying-in-hiv-care/hiv-treatment/hiv-treatment-overview.