Receiving an HIV Diagnosis

Yolanda: I'm Yolanda. I live in Brooklyn now, but I'm originally from Alabama, and I'm HIV-positive. Marcus: I was diagnosed in... I remember the date exactly. May 12, 1992. Yolanda: There was a lot of itchy bumps on my head. I thought, "Let me go lie in the sun and it'll just dissolve the blisters or whatever they are, you know?." And it actually made it worse. Andrea: I was married to a man that had acquired HIV many moons before he met me. He knew that he had HIV. I found out because he had an affair. Yolanda: In the emergency room, they said, "Have you ever been tested for HIV?" I said, "No." I was just denying it at that point. The next thing that happened was I began to have gum disease, very bad problems with my teeth. Then I decided I needed to get tested for HIV after those two incidents. So I did, and I was. And, you know, it freaked me out. Marcus: The test comes back positive. I felt the blood drain all the way down to where I was sitting. Andrea: The love that I thought that was there was all a lie. This person deceived me in the worst sort of way. I just thought, "Why me?" Yolanda: I felt very alone. And the person that I was living with that I thought I was in love with left. Andrea: Even though my doctor said that I wasn't going to die, I still went home and made sure my will was up to date and just made sure... prepared for death. It was one of the most horrific things that could have happened to you, but at the same time, it's like, okay it happened. Now I have to make sure that my kids are protected. Marcus: After the news was delivered, the very first question that I had was, "All right. What do I do now?" Yolanda: I began to receive nutrition and exercise advice, fitness advice, things like that. I became healthier after my HIV diagnosis. Andrea: It's something that's manageable, and if you take care of yourself correctly, properly, you can live a long time. Yolanda: You can have a great life if you're committed to making that happen.