My Positive Life

Hi my name is Danielle.

We always hear how devastating it is when a person is told that they have been infected with the HIV virus.

Well what is life like when that is all you know?

You see I don’t know what life is like not being positive because I was born with the virus on January 26, 1985, but wasn’t diagnosed until the age of 6 with AIDS in 1991. Both of my parents passed away from complications of AIDS, which left me to be raised by my aunts, uncles, and brothers.

I can’t tell you when I really realized what was going on with me, all I knew was that I had to go to the hospital every month and have an IV put in me for about 6 hours each time until the age of nine. At 9 years old I had to take these liquid medicines that were horrible. Many times the adults thought that I was taking the medicine but most of the time I was pouring it down the sink and when it was pills I had to take, I would hide them in the trash for example if there was a soda can, I would throw it in there. I never knew why doctors had to keep switching my meds, but now I know it was because my system had built up resistance to the medication because I never took them the way I was supposed to. I think it was when I was 16 years old when I began to be adherent to my medication. Before this time I didn’t realize the severity of this thing that lurked inside of my body.

I have been on my own since the age of 19. I got into drugs but never was addicted to them. This lasted less than one year. At this time I also was selling drugs because in the small town I lived in was very hard to find a descent paying job to support my rent, and utilities. But I all that was over when I was pulled over in 2006 and cops found 2 ounces of marijuana. This is when it hit me, this is not me! I made a 360.

Now I will be a young healthy 26 year old woman. I am a single mother of a healthy 11 month old HIV negative son. We have my struggles but at the end of the day, we have a roof over our heads, a bed to lay our heads on, and food in our bellies...Thank You!