CDC’s HIV Treatment Works: Christopher Story - Tips for Good Health
CDC’s HIV Treatment Works: Christopher’s Story:
I’m Christopher, I would say that HIV, you think you’ve won, but you didn’t. Now we’re in the space where, you know, people are living, so, HIV, you’re not winning today. I learned about my HIV status when I was 16 at Howard University. They had a health fair there, and three random people asked me if I ever took HIV tests, and I took one and discovered that I was HIV-positive from that point on. And I remember my guardian — My mother died of AIDS complications. I remember my guardian telling me, “Don’t tell anybody. Keep it a secret. It can be our secret.”
And I just had this epiphany, like, “No, this is the reason why I’m finding out 16 years later because we kept it a secret for far too long.” The physical concerns that I’ve had pretty much were definitely around death. I remember just really thinking about who was going to get what when I die. My brother was going to get stuffed animals. Destiny’s Child was going to sing at the funeral.
And it was just — I just had this wild imagination in terms of what everything would be like, But then I stopped it, because I was like, “I ain’t — I’m not going anywhere anytime soon,” after I did more research. I give you the advice to someone who’s newly diagnosed with HIV, I definitely would say start treatment as soon as you can, because I think once your body gets to lower levels, it’s kind of hard to bring it back up.
HIV Treatment:
In terms of inflammation, we want to make sure that we’re — that you are taking care of, you know, your viral load and the copious amount of HIV in your system, before it gets, you know, out of hand. I understand the fear. I mean, I have gone through it. And I know it pretty well. I also understand it from the standpoint of being off of treatment for several years and kind of like playing with the medications, so to speak, kind of like, taking it — you know, I’ll make it five days a week, but I won’t take it on the weekend — kind of like — playing with it that way.
And that was basically off of my ignorance and not understanding that these medications keep me alive and keep me well. It’s so many tears to living well, not only just physically, but you also have to have excellent emotional health — who can you cry too, who can you, you know, just let your guard down with As far as mental health, who can you talk to about, you know, the struggles you have with HIV? You are alive, and because you are busy, you still have time. And you still have the power to do what you still want to do. And I think that when people hear those words, that you’re positive. I think they feel like they give up hope. And I think that is, if anything, that should inspire you to do more.
What more can I do with my life? How can I live my best life? HIV treatment works. Get in care Stay in care Live well.
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