First Anniversary

It's almost the finish line of my "1st year anniversary", as Dr Ditangco said it during my first consultation with her when Tag and I met her in The Medical City, one thursday afternoon. I can still hear her voice during our first talk. She was calm, relaxed, full of confidence and reassuring. I knew from that time on that she will be my infectious doctor and I will put my full trust and confidence in her.  I knew that she would be able to make good decisions on my health. 

That was October 2011.

Today as I open my last 3 bottles of ARV's to complete my one year of taking them I feel so blessed that I am in my best health. I've never been sick for 11 months now. My CD4 count shot up from 70 to 487 in just eight months. I have no ARV side effects. 

I can still remember when I was in my death bed last September 2011 because of my weak immune system caused by HIV which I didn't know then, when my CD4 was so low, when I was down with PCP and bibasal pneumonia, when it was hard for me to breath even when walking, when I got thin. I can still remember the concern of Tag and how he cried when on the third day of my hospital confinement, Dr. T, my pulmonologist broke the news that I have HIV. I can still hear my good friend, Dr. B, who prayed over me when I was on my bed. I can still visualize the faces of my two sisters when they heard the news. Up to now, I can see vividly all the events that happened to me for the past eleven months.

Now that my 1st year anniversary is coming, I would like to give thanks to everybody who assisted me through my journey.

Thanks to Tag, who has remained loving and caring. He is always there for me throughout my hardships and weaknesses. Thank you for still loving me despite my illness, despite my inadequacies and failures, my insecurities, sensitivities and my childishness. Thank you for being there and supporting me when I was battling my illness both physically and emotionally. Thank you for being my strength and providing me the courage to fight back. Tag, you know you are my lover for life, my dear friend, my everything. I love you so much.

Thanks to all my doctors who give me new meaning to my life. First to Dr. T from TMC who "resuscitated" my life back and assisted me through my first month of having this disease. Thanks to Dr. B, my good friend who is always is there for me and Tag and who has become my attending physician from that time on. Thanks to Dr. T, my pulmonologist who detected and treated my pneumonia and who was the one who told me to take the HIV test when I was confined. Thanks to Dr. R from PGH-SAGIP who assisted me with my first ARV's and did my first counseling. Thanks to Dr. S from TMC who even though I met her only once, was so kind and loving during my consultation with her. Thanks, to Dr. Ditangco, for accepting me as her patient, who has become my confidant about my illness and who partnered me with my advocacies. I am so grateful to all of you.

Thanks to Tag's entire family and my family for standing strong for me and accepting me and disease. I know I couldn't handle this without the support and love that you have all showed me. Thank you so much for all your prayers and encouraging words.

Thank you to all the RITM-ARG staff for becoming my extended family. Thanks to Ate Ellen, Maram, Let, Ate Beth and Marvin for always assisting me whenever I am in the clinic. Thanks for making everything easy for me there. Thank you guys too for helping my advocacy come to life. Without you guys I wouldn't be able to do my cause.

Now as I distribute all my ARV tablets in my big month pill box, I am full of optimism that at my "1st anniversary", in my 1st finish line, I know that I am already a winner!