Every time I explain my treatment process to someone, they’re usually so shocked that they have to Google to check if what I’m saying is true (Picture: Ellie Harrison)
‘I’m sure it has to be false positive,’ the nurse said reassuringly. I nodded nervously. Surely, she was right.
I was a 21-year-old straight girl, after all. I had only decided to get an at-home STI test to make sure my sexual health was in check.
But two weeks later, my life was turned upside down when the HIV test came back positive. I got a call from a clinic saying that I needed to come in for another HIV test, which confirmed the news.
It was a distressing time. I knew nothing about HIV – my only knowledge of it was when Ste was diagnosed in Hollyoaks. The one thing that kept me going was the thought that Ste got HIV ages ago and was still in the show. Maybe I’d be OK too?
The nurse who told me was so supportive. We spoke for two hours about what would happen next and the treatment process. Naively, I’d assumed I’d need a massive treatment plan, that I’d be in and out of the doctors all the time. But that wasn’t the case. My prescribed treatment was just one pill a day.
She gave me what felt like a thousand pamphlets and even her personal mobile number should I ever need to speak to someone.
As soon as I left her, I called my mum and dad. The news completely shocked them. Thankfully, they were supportive immediately though, and set off to be by my side straight away; my mum spending the three-hour car journey on the phone to Terrence Higgins Trust’s helpline, THT Direct.
Ellie and her parents (Picture: Ellie Harrison)
Terrence Higgins Trust is the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity. Their helpline helps nearly 20,000 vulnerable people each year.
THT Direct gave my mum all the information she needed, including how to support me and the correct things to say to me. They also affirmed that people can live long and healthy lives with HIV. I felt incredibly lucky she was doing everything possible to understand my diagnosis.
At first, I struggled to cope and I couldn’t face telling my friends about my HIV status. Keeping it secret really took a toll on my mental health. I felt isolated and tried to make myself feel better by going out and getting drunk. One night, a boy tried it on with me and I completely broke down. I couldn’t cope on my own any longer.
When I opened up to them, thankfully, my friends didn’t react badly, but they didn’t know what to say either. None of us had ever thought HIV would hit our friendship group – a lot of them cried.
Now they’re fantastic, but they needed time to educate themselves on the realities of living with HIV today – the reality is, the stigma around the virus does more harm …read more
Source:: Metro
