Vannessa

Hello my name is Vanessa and I don't care if everybody finds out that I have HIV.I am 15 years old I was born in Bronx NewYork I Moved to California

when I was 5 and just recently I moved to Maryland. I am here today to tell you about my life having HIV.

Tequilla

I have been HIV positive for almost two years and I'm 13 years old. I found out I was positive when I was 12 years old. My mom took me to the hospital and they tested me and told me to come back in one month.

So we waited that whole month and it was time to go see if I had HIV.My mom and I went back to the hospital and the nurse came in and she said you are HIV positive. My mom broke down in tears and I was just looking at her and the nurse asked me if I understood and I shook my head. The nurse said you can die if you don't take your medicine. She gave me and my mom a number with some writing on it and she said schedule an appointment to see a doctor. We left and when I got home my mom told my step daddy.

He was crying and we sat down and we had a long conversation. We scheduled an appointment and they told my mom to bring me that week, so she did. We went to my appointment and the people were very nice and respectful. They took me and my mom in a room and they talked to me. They told me about all the medicine that can keep me alive.

I met people who knew about HIV and I was thinking they can teach me some things about HIV. They told me do not stop taking your medicine because the virus would find a way to start making you immune to your meds. I started to play around and runaway and not take my meds with me and I got sick, so they had to stop those meds. They gave me more and I took them and I got better. Stay safe and protect yourself against HIV.

My name is Anna, I am 10 years old living in Namibia. I realized at my very young age that I am HIV positive. I developed lots of skin problem which never

healed  and I heard my parents saying that I am HIV positive.I am shocked because I did not look for it I have never had sex. I only hear people talking about it. I know even if  I die I am going to heaven.
My mother passed away in 2000,for HIV related illness, i saw her, when she was sick, She was very thin and i used to read in different books about this deadly illness. I don`t know who my father is. But i know that both my parents are dead and i have no parent left. I only have my brother from a different father.

My life is a disaster, i have my aunty who is looking after me but that is not enough. My parents are very important to me. There is a man who claims to be my father but i know that is not true. I wonder if my really father liked me. Although i don`t know who he is. I also wonder why he gave me to Samuel my so called father. I am saying my so called father because i don`t know if he is my really father.

What i really want is love i want someone who will love me as i am suppose to be loved and care for me and my brother. Please help or should I just die and go to where my parent are..........
Thank you.

Anon

At 16 I never thought it would happen to me. I had just moved to England a few years back and I could say I was caught up living my life in the fast lane.

I met a really nice guy who was a friend of my cousins he was South African.I had sex with him for his birthday and didn’t use protection because  I was on the depo-vera contraceptive injection. STDs never crossed my mind at the heat of the moment.
A month later he went on holiday with his family back to South Africa. Just a few days after he was gone I started having severe abdominal pains so I visited my doctor who suggested food poisoning. After taking the required dosage of anti-biotics the pain did not go away.

I returned to my doctor who then suggested it was thrush caused by the anti-biotics I was taking so I had the day treatment. Since my GP had told me I had thrush I decided to get a full check up to see if anything else was wrong so I got a sexual health screen.
Two weeks passed and I did not hear from the clinic so I was very happy because they had said " no news is really good news" but then my phone rang when I was watching T.V with my family and it was my health adviser from the clinic she told me I had to come in because the test had revealed I had Chlamydia so I had to pick up my treatment
I was very reluctant to go because I thought it was nothing serious but when I got there I was taken to a small room and had the news that I WAS HIV POSITIVE frankly I did not know what my reaction was supposed to be.

My boyfriend came back and I told him the news on his day of arrival and everything has changed and we have drifted apart
Well I can’t say anymore because my boyfriend just came back a week ago and the story of my life continues. Life at the moment seems so empty but I guess there is a reason and a plan for everything so in God I will believe

Kerry

I am 17 and will be 18 in two months.  In October 2005 I gave blood, I then gave again in February this year. I had a letter asking for me to go to the blood

clinic orto arrange for them to come to me. At first I didn’t think that it was anything important and no-one mentioned any thing as being wrong.  They called to my hose and took blood but still I wasn’t told what it was, just that they had some unusual test results.  Later I was asked to go to the hospital and told I had HIV anti-bodies.  My partner of 3 years was then tested and he has a low cd4 count.  In a way I'm glad I got it, otherwise we wouldn't know he has it and has to start medication, or that his children, from a previous relationship, were born with it.  Now we can prevent any children we have from getting it.

Mr. H

I am 17 years old and I was diagnosed with HIV last year.  I was in detention where they routinely test for HIV – the doctor at detention broke the news. 

  I felt crushed, like my life was over…like I was nobody.  I thought I was going to die real soon.  I felt that my life would never be the same.I was very spontaneous when I was in the world (I’m in secure custody now).  I’ve know now for about 8 months, and the first week of knowing was the worst week of my life. 

Losing sleep, thinking about the future and the past, and the stuff that I had to give up when I go home.
I think a lot about how I’m going to tell my current girlfriends.  I often stress a lot because I want to have kids and I want to live a normal life.  I want to not have to think about it, not have to be so precautious.  Every day, I ask myself, “Why me?”  I mean they got plenty of people who just don’t care, but I do.

My family supports me 100% - I hate to hear people talk about it when they really don’t know what they are talking about.  I find myself about to correct people but at the same time I want to remain confidential about my diagnosis.  But at the same time, I still have gossipers spreading rumors about me.  I mean, I’m young, dashingly handsome, and you wouldn’t be able to tell from looking at me.  And I try to live as normally as I can, but it seems like I can’t win for losing.
Thanks.

Sophie

I am not very sure how I came to get the virus. When I had my test, one of my ex-boyfriends had just died in an accident. So maybe he had the virus and didn't know it, I don't know. Now maybe we never will.

Sometimes it is quite difficult to hide from [HIV] because of all the medication and college and everything. The good thing is that it is normal for a girl to get into a toilet cubicle with her bag. Many times I take my medication in there. There is always a drink in my bag and what I now call steroids. When I don't take them, I become breathless, tired and at times irritable.

I started getting sick about two years ago and with time, it has become worse. At first I was just feeling tired and weak. Even when I had had my breakfast, I would find it an effort to go upstairs to my room. This would happen for a day or two then disappear. Later, with the tiredness, I would not be able to hold my food down ... or up. I remember times when I would long for 'Matoke', but once I have taken just two spoonfuls, I would lose my appetite.

This continued for about six months and I had really lost weight. The people who came to see me showed it in their face that I was a 'gone' case. My mum really tried to hide it, but her tears said it all. That is when you know who loves you and who is a true friend. The people, both families and especially friends who constantly came to visit me in hospital when I was totally gone are the ones who I call real brothers and sisters.

I’m 15 and have been smoking meth and snorting coke for as long as I can remember. Living in Honolulu and being away from home most of the time,

I was eager to stay with anybody who had money and a bed to sleep in.I checked into Kahi Mohala: a rehab hospital for a couple of weeks. They told me I had AIDS and that I will die from it eventually.

It was and still is overwhelmingly devastating. I have 2 little baby brothers and I hope I’m around for them to have a good remembrance of me. It’s sad really. My life. But I deserve it and am in a way given a second chance. It opened my eyes to the people and things around me. I have support from my mother who can barely handle.

I’m young and don’t know of anybody living with the disease. Hardly even the one who gave it to me. He was 21 and took advantage. I have a young heart but an old soul. I pray everyday and go to church on Sundays. Always having faith in God, I believe this was my destiny and AIDS is more than just a disease. It changes you. Makes your mind stronger, knowing your time is limited you begin to see things differently…appreciate the blessings.

It was only just detected so I have a long road ahead of me. I mean a really long one. I go through withdrawal and cry myself to sleep. I want to go back to the lifestyle. But I feel it would be betraying my family and connection God.
I want to accomplish so many things. And I will. Everybody makes mistakes. Everyone has scars. This is life, start questioning it. Ask yourself what really is important to you.
Thanks for listening.
Aloha.

My name is Nic, and I'm 15 years old. I've lived with HIV since I was 11, and everyday I wonder why the hell I had to screw up my life like that.

Well I'm 15 and I've been HIV positive since I was born. I first found out about it when I was 10. I've been taking meds ever since I can remember. My mom used to always tell me they were just vitamins.

So I believed it because I didn’t really eat a lot of vegetables and I was kinda skinny so it did sound reasonable.
Later when I was like 10 my mom told me that I had a virus and she told me the whole story about how HIV works. As soon as she told me this I knew what it was but I didn’t want to say anything. So when I had my next appointment (I have one every 6 weeks) they all decided to tell me. The doctor said I took it rather well.

At first it didn't really take an impact on me but now when I hear people being so ignorant about people with HIV it just annoys me so much and even though I correct them they still keep going at it. I try to control myself but it gets me mad. So far I have told no one about my situation but I think I should tell one of my friends so she could be supportive about it.
Learning I'm HIV positive changed my life in the way that I knew I had to take my medicine but I've always had trouble swallowing pills and I had to take one that was big. So my doctor told me the only way for me to take my medications without having to swallow was to get a G-tube. I didn’t bother me at first but as I started middle school it did start to bother me because I became more aware of my appearance. I kept that tube until I was 14.