Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this piece are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the position of Positive Women’s Network – USA.
June 5, 2019
by Olga Irwin
Being a long term survivor means so many things. Many thoughts have been going through my mind these past few months. Some of the thoughts I had were of all the victories that I have accomplished, the many other survivors that I have met, and all the new sciences that have developed.
In the 19 years since I was diagnosed, I have met some of the most amazing people. Some are still living and some have passed. I wish I could name them all. I hope the living know who they are and remember the ones who have passed. Without them, I would not have survived. They showed me that I am able to accomplish many things.
They gave me the opportunity to try things that pushed me to better myself. Some of the opportunities included being introduced to local advocacy activities, such as doing community outreach work. In the early 2000s, my mom, my husband, and I would load boxes of local HIV services information packets and set up tables at health fairs and pride. I then started attending state conferences and trainings, as well as getting involved in state community advisory boards.
My life since 2010 has been such a worldwind, especially after I heard of PWN-USA. This powerful and amazing group of women have become my family. I have gained so much confidence. I know some will be there with me to address stigma, women’s reproductive rights, and the right to equitable health care. They have shown me different ways to advocate for these issues.
I learned how to write letters to my legislators. I have testified at committee hearings and spoken at local press conferences. I loved going to Washington, D.C., protesting and being arrested for something I believed in. The whole time, I had a PWN-USA sister somewhere close by my side. I understand how the federal policy process works through graduating the PWN-USA Policy Fellowship. Through the communications work group and trainings, I learned how to write blogs, which I am most uncomfortable doing because of my learning disabilities. I feel that I do not have good writing skills.
Since 2016, I have done things I had only dreamed of doing, having told myself I would never get a chance to do them. I have known of two people to be cured of HIV and met the very first one, Timothy Brown (the Berlin patient). PReP is being used to stop HIV transmission in serodiscordant couples. The U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable) campaign is life changing. Research fueling the U=U campaign proves if a person living with HIV is in treatment and adherent to the medication with an undetectable viral load, there is no way to transmit the virus to another person during sex.
This year, I have been featured in two magazines. During all my training at OAC, AIDS Alliance, National Quality Center and PWN-USA, I kept saying my main goal for 2019 was to present at a major conference. I did that with three other women whom I truly respect. Our abstract has been accepted to present at another major conference later in year. Now, I have a new goal. I have been looking into opportunities for policy advocacy to help end the stigmatizing laws and policies that harm people who are trans and gender non conforming, people of color, immigrants and people living with HIV.
