I Won’t Give Up: HIV/AIDS Survival Stories

With over 940000 deaths globally and 1.8 million new cases in 2017, worldwide, HIV/AIDS is still a complicated condition the world is dealing with. India still accounts for 4^th highest number of deaths due to HIV/AIDS. As of now, there is no cure for this disease.

AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is a condition caused by HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). This virus attacks human immune system, making them weak and developing lower resistance against various disease. It makes the immune system so weak that even a simple cough and cold can become too troublesome for the infected person.

Though the world has seen a significant reduction in the number of new HIV patients as well as the number of deaths due to HIV/AIDS, yet, there is a long way to go. World AIDS Day is celebrated every year on 1^st December with an aim to spread awareness against the disease. This disease is still a taboo in many societies and people, despite the circulated information against the disease, have difficulty accepting HIV patients and these patients are treated as an outcast in the society.

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions brings to you few stories of people who are struggling hard with HIV/AIDS and leading their life. These are the stories of their struggle and the issues they have been facing ever since they were diagnosed with this condition.

“I have no one to shift the blame upon”

I am a 29-year-old female, living in Delhi. Everything was seemingly fine until I was diagnosed with HIV, 2 years back. My world shattered right in front of my eyes. How stupid was I to not to think that this disease can happened to me as I was so addicted to drugs and was involved in sharing needles to inject drugs. I always knew about this disease but thought it could never target me. I was wrong.

I went to rehab to get rid of my drug addiction. I was successful and was living a new life where there was no place for drugs and then this happened. I had fever that lasted for days and doctors recommended a blood test and the reports changed my life overnight. I was declared HIV positive.

It is hard to live as a HIV patient as your own guilt never leaves you, your body is not the same as before, you’re fighting with your health and at the same time the society has abandoned you.

This happened to me, I was declared an outcast. With few months of diagnosis, I lost many of my friends, relatives and almost every person in my social circle, excluding my parents. People used to label me as a character-less woman. But this disease is not just a sexually transmitted one, there are other factors too, and mine was one of them. But no one wanted to know how I felt. I struggled with everything from the loss of my health, friends to depression.

I was taking therapies and medicine for the disease and was also fighting depression at the same tie. My body wasn’t taking well, the anti-depressants, so they had to be stopped. My parents were my only support and every time I looked at them, I felt even more guilty. At one point I also thought of ending up my life but snapped back looking at my parents.

I just want to tell everyone that HIV/AIDS does equal harm to your mental health. If the society becomes more accepting of HIV patients, maybe we can reduce the stigma the patient faces. HIV doesn’t spread from touching or being with a HIV positive person. This is only transferrable through sexual transmission, sharing needles or blood transfusion.

Let’s make a society where HIV patients can live normally like other people. Let us be more accepting of HIV patients and understand and support them so that they can at least feel less pain mentally.

“I’m learning how to live with HIV”

Around 1.5 years back, my world changed when I was diagnosed with HIV. The blood reports stated “Reactive” and tears rolled down my face. I cursed the man who was responsible for this. He told me after a year of our sexually intimate relationship that he was HIV positive. I was devastated and out of fear went to get my blood test done and my fear came true.

I never felt ashamed of my sexual preferences and was okay being in a homosexual relationship with this man who gifted me the virus. I cursed him after seeing my blood reports and questioned him why he didn’t tell me before. ‘What is my fault?’ this was the question that kept echoing in my mind.

I was scared. For few days I didn’t tell this to anyone and then one day, I exploded in front of my friend and sobbed uncontrollably. She knew the state I was in. She comforted me and made me believe that everything will be alright. I slowly came to terms with my condition and now my family knew about this. It was devastating for them too, but with time they also learned to deal with the reality.

My initial struggle with the disease wasn’t an easy one. The news of me being HIV positive spread like a forest fire and in no time, I was secluded by the society I live in. A feeing of self-hatred and disgust developed into me and I stopped talking to anyone. My friend slowly took me out of the depression I was into, with the help of my family and other friends. She tried to make me feel good about myself.

There are various advancements been made in treatment of HIV/AIDS to help HIV patients live a long and healthy life. I went on to take antiretroviral therapy. Today, I have again started seeing myself in a different light. The feeling of self-hatred has been now diminishing and I am becoming more and more accepting.

My friends helped me a lot in coming to terms with my condition and they also helped others understand my situation. Around 2 years with this disease, I am now becoming more positive and learning to deal with the condition.

HIV is a lifelong condition and the person affected by it has to live on medications for his/her entire life. It can also happen to people who are involved in heterosexual relationships, so this is a myth that this is a disease brought in by the homosexuals.

Society needs to understand the pain a HIV positive person suffers and try to make them comfortable. Behave the way you are with others, with a HIV positive person. HIV patients are also part of this society.

There are many organizations that offer free antiretroviral therapy like AIDS Health Foundation, India HIV Alliance, etc. You can get the treatments from there. My message to all the HIV patients is that- “It can happen to anyone. Face the reality and learn to cope up with it. Through constant monitoring and taking the medications and therapies regularly, you can also live a healthy and long life. HIV is not the end of you.”

These 2 stories have few things in common:

• The struggle of HIV patients, health wise
• The social stigma they face

The most important thing for both these individuals was that, they decided to not to give up.

Our society needs to understand the fact that AIDS is not a general communicable disease and only spreads through vaginal or rectal fluids, semen, blood transfusion, breast milk & using shared needles. It does not spread through being friends with a HIV positive person. Accept HIV. Take precautionary measures and learn more about the disease, but secluding HIV patients from the society is not the way this condition is going to be solved.

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions, being a medical communication company, understands the sentiments and struggles of HIV patients and ask people to be more understanding of the disease and treat HIV patients as the part of their society and behave normally with them. Also, Turacoz appeals the HIV patients to be optimistic and never think of giving up. HIV certainly doesn’t mean the end of your life. You still have a long way to go. Take proper medications and antiretroviral therapy is going to help you live a long and healthy life.

Mentioned below are some helplines for HIV/AIDS patients in India:

• Helpline no.: 1097 (National AIDS Control Organization (NACO))
• Contact no.: +91 9892864024 (AIDS Society of India)
• Contact no.: 23543333, 23542222 (ASHA (Action Service Hope for AIDS))

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To know more about our services and to get assistance from us, you can mail us at hello@turacoz.in