Stories

First, being diagnosed feels like you have been given a life sentence. You feel isolated and alone. You are left within the whirlwind of your thoughts and emotions. It is...

Exactly one week before my twenty-first birthday I got dealt a card that wasn’t just going to turn me into another statistic. I did not sulk and I did not...

I was 20 years old, in my 3rd year in the university when a school club I belonged to arranged for free HIV testing. I was just curious because I...

Who is Octavia Y. Lewis, MPA, and what makes her who she is? Octavia often struggles with this question because at times she tries to be so many things that...

When you were a kid, you were probably asked at least once, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I never really knew how to answer this...

My story with HIV starts from my very beginning. I was born with HIV in 1988 to a mother that received her HIV from a blood transfusion. I was on...

Found out I was positive three weeks before partner passed of pancreatic cancer. He had been positive for over a year and didn't tell. Leading up to that point, I...

I was married to my ex-husband and he went behind my back and slept with a woman that was HIV positive. He did not tell me and I slept with...

Often in my work in person or online I’m asked, “How long did it take you to feel better after your diagnosis and back to your old self?" Well, before...

I was at a community event in West Philly. My team and I provided community outreach in hopes of getting more people tested. In addition to offering sexual health education...

I can't remember exactly when I was diagnosed. I can recall being in love, I can recall falling out of it. I can recall a string of bad decisions prior...

I was born in Fort Myers Florida. I was also diagnosed with epilepsy and have seizures really bad. Loud noises will trigger anything around me. As I got older my...

Growing up gay in a very conservative and religious community, I was always very cautious about any sexual encounters. I stayed cautious and only had unprotected sex with those I...

I was born to an alcoholic drug addict under the influence of whatever she consumed. It wasn't food. I had many health problems. I had an enlarged heart, wouldn't eat...

It was an odd sensation, coming to terms with what my doctor was telling me. At 22 years old, the week before graduating with my Bachelor's, when I should have...

Hi, my name is Alberto Pérez Bermúdez and I found out that I was HIV positive when I was 18 years old. I’m a long term survivor for 32 years...

I have been living successfully with the HIV diagnosis for 35 1/2 years. I am 26 1/2 years clean from drugs & cigarettes. I am single and looking for my...

I had been married for 10 years and we separated because he cheated. I stayed for almost 4 and a half years when he called me up and told me...

We are always introduced as The Marshall's. Kalvin and Eunice, married for 35 years. A seroconcordant couple, meaning we both are living with HIV. I’m always asked to tell my...

Interested in sharing your own diagnosis story, treatment experience, or another aspect of living with HIV? My name is Helen. I'm 24 yrs old, and a single mother of one...