A Young Woman's Battle With HIV

Marvelyn Brown

How is your health now?
My health is fine now. I take seven pills a day, including vitamins and HIV medicines. In previous medication regimens I was on, I lost so much weight. It also affected my liver to the point where my eyes were constantly yellow. I've faced every side effect there possibly was, from nausea to diarrhea. Now my body's gotten a little bit more used to the pills.

But medicine is only part of it. The positive attitude I have and the outlook on life is really what keeps me the most healthy. I also exercise, and I eat mostly organic foods.

Has this diagnosis had an impact on your relationships with family and boyfriends?
I would say it's brought me closer together with my family in a lot of ways. The entire first year after my diagnosis, I thought the world, including my family, was against me. But when it came down to it, they really just weren't educated and didn't know how to treat me. So now the relationship with my family is very good.

As for boyfriends, you can tell a lot about a man's character when you tell him that you have HIV. It actually helps me a lot in the dating world. I used to date a guy for years before I found out that he was no good. Now I find out in the first 10 minutes.

What message do you have for other young people?
The thing I really want them to take away from the book is the message of self-love. If you love yourself, you can protect yourself, and that eliminates HIV from the beginning.