Ok. Our health status has already stabilized. Our CD4 counts are already high after years of taking ARV’s. Our Viral Load are almost undetectable. What’s next for us then?
We all know that our next goal is to really wait for the cure for HIV but of course, that will still take time. For the meantime, the most important thing is remembering that we still have HIV and that there are a lot of good things that we can do aside from our normal day to day living.
1. Focus on our health. No matter what this is our lifelong priority. Even though our immune system has already rebounded, we still have to take care of our health. Remember, it is the only thing we have and losing it would be costly. Have a proper diet, exercise and activity, regular leisure and recreational activities, relaxation, emotional and vocational growth ---- these are all components of being a healthy individual.
2. Volunteer. We have wisdom from our experience. We can already contribute to society with our knowledge. Let’s put everything into action. Volunteer to HIV organizations, may the organization be geared towards prevention, or treatment or any counseling or support groups. We are already basically the arm towards educating the society so why not make ourselves useful. We can also help out in raising funds for different HIV purposes. We can assist with HIV testing, leafletting and other information dissemination campaigns or lobbying our government for additional HIV/AIDS funds. We can also write to newspapers and magazines about our experience to help educate our fellow pozzies and the society in general. You can also join marches and social gatherings to voice out the problems of the HIV community.
3. Become a counselor. If you have more time, attend seminars and training and become a certified HIV counselor. There are a lot of patients who need counseling and by giving time to them and assisting them, we for sure are saving their lives.
4. Create your own support group. You can meet people and have a group counseling session, book review, yoga class, recreational activities, group outings, bootcamp exercises, etc. Social media is another way of making an anonymous group. Make twitter and facebook accounts wherein new and old pozzies alike can have interaction and have frequent discussions about HIV and their daily lives.
5. Donate. If you have extra funds, donate money or goods to your hubs and HIV organizations. You can donate money or in kind for medicines for patients, medical equipments and materials, office supplies and equipments. The Love Fund is another venue wherein you can channel your money for the benefit of the indigent pozzies needing of financial assistance. If you have connections, you can help patch up your hubs with different government and non-government organizations for assistance. You can donate money to HIV organization for the prevention of HIV/AIDS.
6. Be an extended family. “Adopt” a pozzie. You can do this by personally assisting a new pozzie in dealing with his illness. You can spend time with the person, making daily calls, checking on his ARV’s or even going with him to the hub for support. You can communicate with him all the time until the pozzie is up and about with his health. With your knowledge, you can advice on proper diet, exercise, sleep habits and give techniques in boosting up the immune system.
7. Live your life to the fullest. This is the greatest thing that we can do to humanity...that by showing to everyone that even though we have HIV we can still live normal, happy and productive lives!
There are so many things that one can do. The power now is n our hands. Life with HIV is great by looking at a different perspective. We didn’t get the disease for no reason at all. Now, we have to capacity to make our lives more spectacular!
