Question

Have I been blessed to have been HIV+ for 20 years and still be alive?

18 July 2006. Related: All topics.

For someone with HIV for 20 years and initial CD4 of 91, now at 600 with a non-detectable viral load (and taken various antivirals over the years) and never ill or missed work, I wonder what category this falls into other than being blessed.

Answer

Answer: Simon Collins

It sounds like you have been lucky and also taken care of your health.

You were lucky to have an immune stem that kept you alive until the treatment became available.

You must have worked hard to take treatment carefully and on time so that the drugs worked and so you didn’t develop resistance, and you;ve been lucky in not having difficult side effects.

I tend to prefer think of good luck rather than being blessed.