My HIV Story

Hi, I know you posted this a long time ago, but I wanted to show you some love and commend your bravery. My uncle has had AIDS since the 90s. He nearly died of pneumonia and that's how we found out. He was rather young then, but went on to get successful treatment, get married, and have beautiful twin daughters. His wife and children do not carry the virus. 30 years later, he's in great health, and actually survived his sibling (my mom) who did not have the illness. You are so much more than a diagnosis and it does not define you. May you have a long, healthy, and most importantly HAPPY life ❤

i got diagnosed a week ago, and it's change my world completely, but you know what. seeing you looked healthy and happy, also you looked beautiful and peaceful, it gives me such a hope, that people who live with HIV can live totally normal life. thank you for the inspiration. i wish you continue to make a video, I'll love to watch your another content.

My Best Friend got HIV in 94. We went through studies and he was on drug cocktails and people in his family were afraid of him which was heartbreaking. You were not born yet. I just said the other day, we rarely here about HIV like we used too. I feel proud that I got such an education with him as he was my roommate. The good thing, he's still alive. Drugs have come far and you did a great job.

I'm a veteran: one of the very few to survive when I was diagnosed in 84. I can't even begin to tell you about how it was from the carnage, to the rejection, projection and of course stigmatisation. I However even in the dark years I found love. I was kind of the male version of you, so it wasn't a problem finding partners who were attracted. But now when I look back I realise that the ones who still wanted to be with me when I told them, passed a test that is rarely presented to most couples. You knew they really loved you! And on the flip side, you realised you weren't as much loved by some people, from whom you expected unconditional love. So what I'm saying is that you have a secret tool in your box when it comes to choosing the right partner and people in your life: you find out pretty quickly who the good ones are. Lots of love to you. You will be fine and in your lifetime, I would imagine they will find the cure.

So happy that you told your truth!!! What a brave beautiful person you are!!! My mom passed away from this in 1996 and I miss her terribly. I wish she could've survived to get treatment. Just writing this makes me want to cry. Thank you!!! Stopthestigma

Thanks for sharing. I was born with HIV in 92. My mom got infected by dad. She didn’t know she had it until I was born. In Africa, there was no way of knowing about the disease till after a child was born. Although there’s still a lot of stigma, the disease shouldn’t define who we are.

God bless you Ellie I’m so scared and disappointed in myself. As a 27 year old just recently diagnosed I don’t know where to find the strength and fortitude to keep moving forward. I could really use some form of motivation and insight. I just don’t want to walk this journey alone.

Thanks for this video I had a very sketchy ex bf that I broke up with last year and I’ve been scared to get tested but today no more I’m going to the doctor to see if I’m alright I’ll update you guys with my results Update: the results came back negative get tested guys it’s worth it to calm your anxiety, to be safe and to make sure you’re healthy !!

Ellie, what an incredibly brave and wonderful thing to do. Engaging and informed, I was glued to watching you. I admire you and wish you all the best for your future.

Thank you for sharing your story. My ex boyfriend was diagnosed with AIDS (his CD4 count was down to 25) while we were dating. He didn’t even know he was sick until he ended up in the hospital with PCP pneumonia. By the grace of God I wasn’t infected. Thankfully he’s been able to get himself to be undetectable now, but still suffers with a lot of health problems because he was so sick. I wish people would become more educated about how far treatments have come now - especially with not being able to transmit it now even without contraceptives. Thanks for sharing that detail.

I’ve only seen stuff about HIV growing up on tv, but this was early 2000s, it seemed tough back then. So glad to see there are advancements in medicine to give people that have HIV a higher quality of life. I’m sure there will be more advancements in the future, hopefully a cure. Thanks for providing people an educational message, takes a lot of courage.

This was very informative thank you. You're a brave girl with a powerful message, keep going!

I'm proud of you and really appreciate your courage to talk about it in public... many people who have fear on stigma need more people like you... More people talk about their Hiv. status in a positive way.... Less stigma in our society.... We all'll gone one day.... we all 've one life..... whatever it's we must embrace it......

You are INCREDIBLE! Thank you for sharing your story with us! I don't know you but I'm SO PROUD of you for this!

Ive been getting HIV symptoms for the past 3 weeks and I got tested today. Seeing you so well and happy really helped me feel better today. Thank you for making this video and continue to make more content.

Love from Chicago! My friend is HIV and he gets sick alot even thou he takes his meds. Glad to see your doing well!♥︎

Hey Ellie. Thanks for sharing your story. This will help woman and men alike. Thank you for your bravery and strength ❤️ ♡ ❤️

I just got a positive diagnosis this afternoon...literally feel like my heart got ripped out of my chest and the scariest part is yet to come as I have to tell my wife and just hope she doesn't leave me. I have to admit I was part of the stigma crew and now it's all come back around and I'm trying to find other people that have been where I am right now. It's currently 2am and I am so wide awake, thoughts swirling around, having all the stages of grief in 10min bursts and overwhelming anxiety of the outcome of the inevitable talk with my absolute soul mate and admit I made a massive mistake and totally broke the promise I made to her. Thanks for sharing your story that was super brave and has given me a little hope that I can do the same. I feel so ashamed but mostly because I've broken the trust and my karma is the 1 thing I feared the most.

Well done. You're very brave and by contributing your story, you are helping to educate others. Good luck and God bless you.

What a beautiful, articulate young woman you are. Thank you for sharing your journey. I stumbled across this video via the Metro - wasn't particularly looking into Worlds Aid Day but you've made me stop and think. Thank you for teaching me to educate myself more <3