HIV/AIDS: Plague of the 21st Century

My brother was raped in 1981 at age 13. When he went to join the USAF in 1985 he discovered he was hiv+. The guy that raped him was his only sexual encounter and that guy died in 1986. My brother is still alive and well today at 53. He's been living with hiv, without any illnesses, for 40 years. He takes 1 pill a day, a cocktail of 3 drugs in 1 pill. His only regret is he was unable to have the kids he always wanted. But he's happy and healthy, retired at 50 with a nice stash of cash and lives on a very large farm in Maryland, happy as can be, enjoying every day of his life with his partner, dogs, cats, cows, horses, pigs and sheep. He hopes to live to 100 but is grateful for the years he has had and wouldn't change a thing. Thanks for the very informative presentation.

I was only young but I remember when Princess Diana helped dispel the myth of HIV being transferred via touch by hugging someone with HIV.

My uncle was bisexual and died of AIDS in the 1980's, 😞 my dad is a strong traditional Christian and did not approve of his brother's lifestyle then or now, but when everyone else, including his gay friends abandoned my uncle as he declined, my dad took him in and cared for him and financially supported him until his death.

I was in college during the late 80’s/early 90’s. Having sex back then was like playing Russian Roulette. AIDS was scary as hell. And waiting for your test results was traumatizing as finding out you were positive was a essentially a death sentence. I’m very thankful that I made it through intact.

I'm 24, living with HIV three years now. Taking a single pill a day seems to be doing the job so far. I'm undetectable. I often wonder if we can cure it.. Hopefully I'm still here to see the day.

I was working as a nurse in 1993 in the emergency field when I began getting sick. I was diagnosed HIV+. Before I got home from the doctor's office, a letter had been posted on my apartment door from management stating I was unwelcome to use the pool or laundry facilities. I left my husband, who was in the military, and my home to save my family any repercussions, but I lost my job within a week. A week later, I was held in handcuffs for 2 1/2 hours in a public restaurant while I was loudly badgered about who my pimp was, where I was shooting up, how people like me aren't welcome, etc. The lady I was lunching with never spoke to me again. I'm close to hitting my 30th anniversary with this disease. Its nearly killed me twice, and the police did their best too. I'm thankful that I have lived long enough to have seen opinions change but it remains stupid to judge someone based on a medical condition. Diana went a good distance towards acceptance, but it shouldn't have been needed in the first place.

My good friend James was raped as a teenager, he didn't discover his HIV status until his mid twenties when the culprit was brought to justice, he served a meagre sentence and continues to live. James is a sadder story, he got really depressed when he found out.. the stigma was still strong in our town in the 00s he thought he would be able to continue to hide it without any medication. He died a few years back. So sad, this video should be shown in schools.

When I was in 7th grade my best friend confessed to having HIV. I gave him a hug. I had to attend his funeral two years later. He contracted it in the 1980s from a blood transfusion.

I learned more from this 20 minutes than I have learned in the past 20 years. They should show this in every health class in America.

That ending was really powerful. "Don't Die of Ignorance" is now entering my lexicon. Great video.

I can't imagine how much it would suck to get a blood transfusion for an already existing illness, to only be diagnosed with HIV later...

My 55 year old brother died on Sept 12, 2020, from AIDS. Three people were by his side, my 80 year old mom, my sister and myself. We had no idea he was HIV positive, until just a few days before he died. He wasted away to nothing, on his 6 ft 8 inch frame. His mouth was completely eaten up, from Thrush. I have never witnessed anyone in such a deteriorated condition. He knew he was loved ,as my mom told him to let go ,and go home, go to peace!

I was in NYC during the AIDS crisis of the 80s. Thank you for your efforts to educate and destigmatize in your piece. I had dear friends who died. May we all value knowledge.

My mother was a nurse in Prince George's County Hospital when the epidemic hit. She was terrified of catching it and for a decent amount of time no one knew the transmission vectors. So much misinformation came out so quickly. The 80's were crazy times.

It’s staggering how many comments start with the words, my uncle

I watched my Uncle die from an AIDS related infection when I was only 5. I was told by my mom to not speak about it because of what people thought. Even at 5 I knew that was wrong.

My dad has lived with HIV for about 17 years on about 8 pills twice a day. He almost died when he got shingles. The docs say he could live to the rip old age of 80.

'He wasn't going around deliberately infecting people'. Yeah, but he said 'what I do with my body is my choice' which is blatantly irresponsible if you know yourself to be infected with a particularly nasty unknown STD. He was the bad guy. His own pleasure was more important than the wellbeing or lives of the dozens of people he slept with.

I live Indiana and feel like we learned so much from brave little Ryan White. I know he was not the only child to be treated so poorly. It was so heartbreaking to know that people had the capacity to treat anyone the way he was treated much less a child. Ryan was special and wise beyond his years. I saw him in front of many groups including congress and he was able to answer every question thrown at him from adults calmly and comprehensively. I know he would be proud of the bill that carries his name and has helped thousands of individuals with HIV and AIDS. In a strange twist, shortly after Ryan died my youngest son came down with a condition I had never heard of. We had (still have) an amazing family doctor who completed his college thesis on this condition but had never seen a child with the disease...until my son. He sent us to Riley Hospital for Children where my son was treated by Ryan White's doctor. These two doctors saved my son's life and I will be forever grateful.

When my son was born he was diagnosed with Hemophilia. Through hospital services we met a boy who had Hemophilia and had gotten HIV from a blood transfusion. His name was Henry, I will never forget him. He died in a car accident this year.