Albany, New York

Positive since 1991

I have been diagnosed with HIV since 1991. I have been hearing about others, those who passed before me, telling me to not let HIV control me but to let me control HIV, to live life to the fullest no matter what and to keep on taking my medications each and every day. So, now I have been living with the virus for 24 years. I’m still healthy, undetectable and living my life as I am supposed to.

May God bless those who are the same way: undetectable and healthy.

What three adjectives best describe you?

Older. Wiser. Stubborn.

What is your greatest achievement?

Adherence to my medications.

What is your greatest regret?

I did not listen to those who told me to stop my lifestyle, straighten up and fly right.

What keeps you up at night?

Being lonely and sad, and having no one to be with or share my bed with.

If you could change one thing about living with HIV, what would it be?

Getting tested early.

What is the best advice you ever received?

Use condoms.

What person in the HIV/AIDS community do you most admire?

The director of a community center who helps those infected or affected by HIV.

What drives you to do what you do?

To help those who do not know who to turn to and to inform others about the consequences of safe sex.

What is your motto?

My favorite motto is, “Each one, teach one.”

If you had to evacuate your house immediately, what is the one thing you would grab on the way out?

My phone.

If you could be any animal, what would you be? And why?

A bear because of its strength.