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Jako,
2000.Jako
November 6, 2000
The last five years have seen me work diligently as an activist. I conducted an HIV prevention campaign in colleges across the US sponsored by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation during the 1999/2000 school year. Finishing up the contract was exhausting. While I did some great work, I missed my home, family, and friends. After being gone for two weeks out of every month for nine months, domesticity and a regular schedule are very important to me. Prior to the college campaign, I secured distribution deals for, Blood Lines, my film about young people living with HIV. In December '98 and '99 it was seen by millions of viewers on MTV. The film is used by teachers around the world as an educational tool. It is fulfilling that my baby (the film) has taken on a life of its own.
I was recently hired as a producer at an animation studio. Very playful, challenging work. The people I work with are creative peers. It means so much to me to be recognized for my abilities outside of HIV. I love that I no longer have to disclose my HIV status on a regular basis; it was time for me to give back to myself. I maintain my involvement with HIV by serving on the Board of Directors for For Us Northwest, Inc., a non-profit organization I co-founded that offers support to kids touched by HIV/AIDS.
My health has been better than I could hope for. I have been on medications for exactly three years. It was a tough choice, but one I made when I felt I had enough information. I had come to a place where my immune system had taken a downturn. I had to do something in addition to my other natural health care regimens. As a result of complete adherence, meaning I take all 25 of my pills twice a day, every single day, my viral load, the amount of virus in my blood, is staying undetectable, and my t-cells hover around 300. Pretty decent for a gal who's been infected nine years this December! The only detractors to the medications have been the side effects. I have peripheral fat wasting and truncal fat accumulation, lipodistrophy. Thankfully, this doesn't involve my muscle mass. I'm still athletic and muscular. I just have to deal with legs that look buffer than a marathon runner's, rope-like arms, a skinnier face, no waist, and big boobs. All kinds of difficult body/self perception issues have come up in this gradual change. I call it my second puberty. This is a small and, hopefully, temporary price to pay for extended health.
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