What would you do, if at the age of 14, you were diagnosed with HIV and then told by your doctor that you probably would not live to see your 18th birthday? Would you just give up on life and die? Or, would you fight back and try to make a difference? That is what happened to me. I was diagnosed with the HIV virus in June of 1987 at the age of 14, at that time there was very little known about the disease. I had received a blood transfusion after having surgery to repair a broken neck, during the surgery I lost too much blood and it was a matter of life or death whether to received the blood transfusion or not. I was also pregnant with my one and only daughter at the time so I felt I had no option except to get the transfusion. I wanted to be around to see my daughter grow up. The next month when I returned to the clinic for my regular check-up I was told that I needed to be tested for HIV. I was told that there was a possibility that one of the pints of blood I had been given might have been contaminated with the HIV virus, so I agreed to be tested. Back then the blood was not tested as thoroughly as it is today. Two weeks later I was called back to the doctor's office to discuss the test results. I found out I had indeed contracted the HIV virus. But, I did not lose hope; instead I decided that I was going to fight back and try to make a difference by educating others about HIV and AIDS. Since that day in 1987 I have devoted my life to HIV and AIDS education and prevention.
My vision is a world without HIV or AIDS. However, for us to obtain this vision, we must first start with more extensive HIV and AIDS education and prevention methods. It is my mission to educate others about HIV and AIDS, so as to stop the spread of this disease and to prevent the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and AIDS. At the end of 2009, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which estimated well over a million people in the US ages 13 and older were living with HIV infection in the United States, and of those about 20% did not know that they were infected with HIV virus. Furthermore, as of August 2011, the CDC estimated around 56,000 individuals were still becoming infected with HIV each year. In order to prevent the annual number of new infections, there needs to be more extensive education about HIV and AIDS, including better prevention methods. Not to mention that even now after thirty years since the first case of AIDS was reported in the United States; things really have not changed, people are still becoming infected at a high rate and the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and AIDS remains to be very much alive. We as a nation need to act now before more people become infected and die. I believe that it is our job to protect and preserve our next generation.
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/basic.htm#hivest
I am a 39 year old female, web article writer, poet, author of two books-"TRUE INSPIRATIONS OF THE HEART" and "SLEEPING WITH THE ANGELS--A STORY OF COURAGE"; working on my third book "THE SKY IS THE LIMIT-TO ACHIEVING DREAMS" and a college student at SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE UNIVERSITY where I am pursuing a Bachelors degree in Creative Writing with the focus on Poetry. I have been HIV positive for 25 years and had full-blown AIDS for 18 years. However, I am healthier than I have ever been.
You can learn more about my book on my blog at http://jessiesnyder.blogspot.com/
And keep up with my latest projects on my personal blog at http://my-pathway-to-heaven.blogspot.com/
