37 Years Later...

I had never given much thought to the virus called HIV. By the time the first case was diagnosed in the U.S. in 1981, I was already out of school and a wife and mother. Over the years, every time I heard those letters H-I-V, my thought was always "that doesn’t apply to me" until many years later, when I was very sick and diagnosed with AIDS. No one (myself included) thought of me as being "at risk for the virus."

We have to encourage everyone to take care of themselves and each other by learning the facts about HIV... 


Thirty-seven years later, despite side effects from the meds and three bouts with cancer, I’m not only living, but I am healthy and have dedicated my life to issues around HIV. I think lessening fear and educating everyone is vital. We have to encourage everyone to take care of themselves and each other by learning the facts about HIV, reducing stigma and getting tested so that we can prevent, protect, and reduce fear around this disease, because knowledge really is power!

Sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but on reflection you find that without overcoming these obstacles you would never have realized your potential, your strength, your willpower, your heart.

-Genia, 37 years

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