Today is my one-year anniversary! - TheBody.com's Bulletin Boards

I am posting this here to hopefully reassure people who have just been diagnosed that life is still good and not to despair. Thanks to the ARV/HAART medications that we currently have, life is far from over, and you can use this diagnosis to strengthen your resolve to achieve your dreams and focus on happiness.

I was diagnosed on January 21st of 2011. I may live to be old enough to forget my name, but I will never forget that day and date. I thought my life was over - boy, was I wrong! Thankfully, I feel like it has really just begun!

After getting over the initial shock, getting re-educated about what the new ARV/HAART treatments are, and working closely with my doctor, I began taking medications on March 5th. Thanks to these medications, my T-cells are at a normal level now and my viral load is undetectable. I was lucky to find this website and forum to help my doctor and I have the information needed to get me healthy again and give us the tools to help keep me that way.

Since my diagnosis, I have improved myself in many ways that I may never have. I have become a better partner, a better father, and a better citizen of this world, realizing more clearly that we are all here to help one another and that we all need each other. I have met so many amazing people who live with this virus and so many people who have devoted their lives to the eradication of it. It has been truly inspiring and has given me new faith in humanity and what we as humans are capable of.

I hope that people newly diagnosed who are reading this will take some comfort from my experience and see that life is far from over and is very much worth living to its fullest. I don't have all the answers, but I do see that hope and optimism, as well as determination is key in fighting this bug. Our lives are beautiful and are not tarnished by this if we transform it into an asset that we use for improving ourselves and fostering our dreams!

Post Extras: Remind Me!