I am so perplexed, on the one side I have the clinics and resource centers telling me I am HIV+ and therefore I am doomed to develop AIDS. On the other hand, I have been told HIV is likened to the flies at the site of garbage. I am so afraid of everyone I listen to no one. I feel like the red dot in the middle of the dart board.

First of all, with the advances in medical treatments of HIV, it can be argued that most people who are HIV positive today are NOT "doomed to develop AIDS." Triple combination treatments are driving viral load down and T-cells up even in individuals who have been quite sick, giving most of us the realistic hope of a long, normal life span.

Of course you're scared. That's a normal reaction. But don't shut down! Keep an open heart and mind! You are not "the red dot in the middle of the dart board." You are a human being, created and loved by God. God really cares about you, and faith in God can really help dispel your fears of what HIV might do to you. Please read my Column #5, "Fear and Faith," January 31, 1996. Faith offers what we need to face fear. Also, please read I John 4:18. It's one of my favorite scriptures, and I hope it will help you get on with your life. HIV is no longer an automatic, imminent death sentence!