Patient educates on his condition for HIV Awareness Month

By Andi Atkinson
February 7, 2023

A Houstonian shares his story of hope, healing, and health to teach and help others. (Photo provided by Jay)

HIV is a virus that targets the body’s immune system, and the late stage of this infection becomes AIDS. Thanks to advanced medicine, however, people with HIV can live functional and healthy lives. Jay, 49, is living proof.

In 1998, Jay was diagnosed with AIDS. He was just 25 years old.

“I was living in Dallas, and it was just a year after I completed graduate school. I had severe nausea that wouldn’t go away, and I started feeling flu-ish. That’s when I went to see the doctor,” he said. “I was given an HIV test, and it showed my viral load was off-the-charts high. My T-cells were very low double digits, to the point that I was given the diagnosis of AIDS.”

Jay was immediately given medications to control the condition — and they worked.