Justin's HIV Journal

A 13-year-old teenager was denied entry into the Milton Hershey School of Hershey, Pa., because he is HIV positive. The spokesperson for the Hershey School, Connie McNamara, has said, "We had to balance his rights and interests with our obligation to provide for the health and safety of other students. ... And this meets a direct threat."

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Sometimes I get personal e-mails about my blog and I haven't really shared them with you all. But I think I will start to do so, but of course changing the names so that I protect people's identities.

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In 2008 I started my HIV medications. My first regimen was Truvada, Reyataz, and Norvir -- a three-pill-a-day regimen that my body, at least at first, was fine dealing with. Then after a couple of months of taking the medication my eyes began to turn yellow and my new doctor said that jaundice was why my eyes were turning yellow. Jaundice is a yellow color of the skin, mucus membranes, or eyes. The yellow coloring comes from bilirubin, a byproduct of old red blood cells. Jaundice can be a symptom of other health problems. Every day, a small number of red blood cells in your body die, and are replaced by new ones. The liver removes the old blood cells, forming bilirubin. The liver helps break down bilirubin so that it can be removed by the body in the stool. When too much bilirubin builds up in the body, jaundice may result. Jaundice can occur if there are too many red blood cells dying or breaking down and going to the liver, the liver is overloaded or damaged and/or the bilirubin from the liver is unable to move through the digestive tract properly. So because of that I was put on another regimen.

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It is Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. This horrible disease has effected, affected and infected us long enough. If you're HIV positive I ask you to stand tall with me and if you're HIV negative I ask you to stand tall with them. Love your HIV-positive brothers. They need you; WE NEED YOU !!!!! LOVE EACH OTHER DAMN BUT LOVE YOURSELF TOO, WRAP IT UP !!!

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On April 8, 2011, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis hosted a national Roundtable on HIV and Employment at which I was honored to testify. Representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission testified as well.

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Ryan White was born on December 6, 1971 in Kokomo, Indiana. When he was three days old, doctors informed his parents that he had hemophilia, an inherited disease in which the blood does not clot. People who have this disease are vulnerable, since an injury as simple as a paper cut can lead to dangerous bleeding. Fortunately for White and his parents, a new treatment, called Factor VIII, recently had been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This treatment is made from blood and contains the clotting agent that allows healthy people to heal quickly from wounds.

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I repeat: Magic Johnson is NOT cured of HIV. In 1991, Johnson retired from the NBA almost immediately after he made a brave public announcement that he had contracted HIV. A good friend of mine, Jason, fell into a brief debate with his co-workers on Magic Johnson and HIV.

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HIV Denialists/Dissidents are people that do not believe that HIV causes AIDS. They also believe that taking medication to help fight against HIV is wrong. They also do not buy into the fact that HIV is a threat to public health worldwide. They also think that toxicities are the main contributors to why HIV tests come up positive. Also HIV Denialists/Dissidents believe that the science of observing and discovering HIV is flawed and that it is not sexually transmitted. HIV Denialists/Dissidents often believe that the complications most of us call AIDS instead come from reckless and recreational drug use, not any virus.

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I was a U.S. Air Force veteran from 1999 to 2003. I love serving my country and serving the people of this country. Even though there are a lot of people that do not support war, I've always thought that the support of the troops that are fighting in the war are what and who's important. But what war are we fighting? And are we actually in it together? The only time I felt that the military was truly united was when the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy" ended.

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But since getting diagnosed as HIV positive in 2006, I have made it a priority to be open about my status. When I made this decision, I knew that it was right for me, but I didn't know just how right it would be. Here are four ways that openly acknowledging that I have HIV has worked in my favor:

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