Kelly's Blog

“Federal officials talk of the need to “re-energize” and seek “momentum” in the fight against AIDS.”

I read those words yesterday in an article on CNN called “Can America regain ‘momentum’ in fight against AIDS?” How can it be that we have lost momentum in our fight against HIV? I have been reading more troubling information in the past year about how most of us no longer consider HIV/AIDS to be a major health crisis. And now I am reading this:

“The rate of new HIV infection in the U.S. is increasing among only one risk group: gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men,” said Jonathan Mermin, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. (CNN)

Are we going to allow another generation to experience the pain of the past?

Anytime we have a “re” word like regain, recommit, re-energize or regroup we are repeating steps that have already been taken. The prefix “re” actually means back to the original place. It is clear we must take steps everyday to keep the word out there that while HIV may not longer be a death sentence, it is a life sentence.

Certainly nothing in your life will ever be the same once you have a positive diagnosis. It is a life of being on guard against HIV and experiencing a new reality of testing and treatment decisions. Why surrender control of your life over to HIV? There are no “re” words for living with HIV. No redo, regain, or relive. You can’t go back.

One thing that doesn’t require any re-energizing or regaining or regrouping is the HIV virus. It remains as destructive and challenging as it was the first day it was identified. The only difference is that now we have treatments that can keep it at bay for a period of time and in some cases, a long period of time. But it is never defeated and treatments are never without cost.

Today is National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Throughout the day today,we will be sharing on Twitter and Facebook some of the great articles, info and stories that are being written for this day. Please send at least one of them to your friends, family, and any one else who is at risk for HIV infection.

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