Tuesday, September 08, 2009

The virus is in my blood. What's the big deal?

"I am Beauty Mbewe from the Malawi Institute of Journalism. I'm a 49-year old woman, almost 50 now, and I've been living with the virus for 18 years now.

"Journalists always focus on people in the last stages of of their life. Why don't they document the lives of people like me. People don't believe me when I tell them I'm positive. Document lives like mine.

"I've been taking antiretrovirals since December 2005, they are working well. Ask me about how I live: I don't live with pain, like someone with arthritis would, for example. The virus is in my blood. I don't even feel it. What is the big deal?

"My husband died 8 years ago, that's how I got infected. I have three kids, all of them I've seen through university. Who would've looked after them? That inspires me to keep going.

"I'm a normal human being and I'm going to live for the next 50 years... ."

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