HIV Positive Dating- Chicago HIV Positive Story

There's one thing that no medication can do, and that is to stop the stigma, and this is why I believe we should be having some frank, open, and honest discussions about HIV. I want to tell you a story. It's pretty long, but I'll try and be as quick as possible back in 2011at the age of 24. I came out after years and of knowing that I was gay. I think remembering back to when I was maybe ten years old or younger, I felt I knew that I was gay. Still, I didn't feel comfortable coming out until a bit later, not long after I came out, I fell ill with what I thought what I felt and probably what seemed like from the outside, like a bad cold, or maybe even the flu lasted about a week or so and at the end of it.

I was left with an extensive rash down my left arm that looked a bit like a meningitis rash. So I decided to go to the gp and get it checked when I went to the gp, I wasn't in there long before they rushed me off to the hospital, and I was admitted to an e for the evening for tests a week or so later I was asked to go back to the hospital to get my results. So around nine years ago, none the wiser24-year-old me set off on a journey that will turn out to be like no other. I remember sitting in a tiny room in the hospital in the infectious diseases clinic. I remember the smell of the room. I remember the room's temperature, and I was in there with a doctor and a student.

 

I ask this question? Have you tested for HIV before? To which my answer was no, I'd never tried, I'd never thought about being tested, I'd never even considered it. At that moment, my mind just kind of went into overdrive, and I was really why I was asking this question. I was panicking. I was worrying straight away. The doctor looking somewhat concerned explained that during the tests. When I was admitted to the hospital, they tested for HIV. The result would come back cheerful right at that second; it felt like my heart stopped. my whole world came crashing down around me, time grant to a halt, and the doctor's voice was drowned out by one overwhelming thought that I had in my head. 

 

It's a thought I remember extremely vividly to this day. I was going to die. I thought that was the end of my life. This is it, and that was the only thought I had at that moment. The tears came, and they carried on for quite a while. Eventually, I was met by the hospital's HIV liaison officer, who talked to me about the diagnosis of what HIV was and about the treatment options, and guess what, it's not a death sentence. 

I had no education about HIV in school, and sex education wasn't that great either. However, I remember the tombstone advert, and I still remember talking about aids in the playground at school, and I have the kids running around saying don't touch that person. They've got aids. I remember all the jokes, and I remember all the insults, and I remember all pretty clearly, but HIV cannot be passed on by touching someone by kissing someone, and it definitely can't be passed on by playing tig in the playground. 

I know that there's still a stigma around HIV. It still exists, and to be honest, sometimes I still get scared to talk about it. Because of this, it's hard to talk about, and sometimes I believe it was pretty hard to hear, too, nine years ago. I was diagnosed as being HIV positive. I had a viral load of over 193 000and a few years later, I started on HIV treatment in November 2014with a viral load of less than 40. I was told that I was undetectable, so the viral load went from, as I say, over 193 000to less than 40. for those of you who don't know, being undetectable means that you have no chance of passing on HIV, and the viruses class has been untransmittable at that level. since the start of the aids epidemic, over 75 million people worldwide have contracted HIV. A staggering 32.7 million people have died from age-related illnesses. As of last year, 38 million people worldwide live with HIV. Around 26 million received treatment just doing the math, which means around12 a million people worldwide don't or can't access treatment, or it's not available. I'm incredibly grateful to live somewhere where I have easy access to medication and fantastic doctors. Then, showing my virus is under control every day, I take one pill this pill. It keeps me alive that not everyone is as lucky or privileged as I am to live somewhere with such accessible and effective healthcare.

 

So I hope that today you spare a thought for all of those people across the world who have been affected by HIV and aids for those of you who don't know or are worried about your status. It's easy. It's a finger prick. It takes seconds. You can do it at home, and you get your results within a few days. I know it's easy for me to say this, but don't worry about the consequence. My clinic number is 3145, but I'm not a number. I'm matt. I'm 34 years old, and I'm HIV-positive every day. I thank my doctors, family, and friends who've been there for me supported me through the dark times and times when it felt like there was no hope.

 

With my friend's suggestion, I visited HIV Single Dating Site, which is only for HIV-positive singles to meet, date, support, and care for.