{"id":26254,"date":"2024-10-22T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-22T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alliance-scotland.org.uk\/humansofscotland\/?p=26254"},"modified":"2024-10-17T11:21:21","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T10:21:21","slug":"alis-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alliance-scotland.org.uk\/humansofscotland\/alis-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Ali’s story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cWhen I was diagnosed my first thought was \u2018I\u2019m going to die\u2019, but my work colleagues said \u2018don\u2019t be ridiculous, there\u2019s medication out there, you\u2019re going to be fine\u2019. Thankfully they were right, and I was wrong. My health visitor explained to me at that stage, I didn\u2019t need to go on any medication, in fact I didn\u2019t need to start medication for another five years. I felt lucky, as that allowed me time to do some homework on HIV, the side effects of medication and things like that, so by the time I needed medication, I was ready for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before my diagnosis I didn\u2019t know much about HIV, but I remember Princess Diana broke down so many barriers by holding the hands of people with HIV and hugging them. Watching that on TV was the catalyst for me wanting to help people living with HIV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve now been living with HIV for 15 years. Telling my story is a real passion, as someone who is involved in peer support – I know how important it is for newly diagnosed people to know they\u2019re not alone, and they\u2019ve got people around them. I thought I only wanted to help other people, but I actually needed help as well. And I still need help. It\u2019s very much a give and take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my opinion, the most important thing to know is that you\u2019re not alone. There\u2019s a lot of support out there, no matter where you are. Be it if you\u2019re in the Outer Hebrides, Orkney or Shetland, you guys aren\u2019t alone. Absolutely not. Support is out there. As for other people, be it family, friends, or complete strangers, that don\u2019t accept your diagnosis, try to remember that is not within your control. The past has happened and you can\u2019t change it. Who knows what\u2019s going to happen tomorrow? All you can do is look at the here and now. You don\u2019t have any control over your friend\u2019s or family\u2019s reaction. You can educate and hopefully they take it on, but if they don\u2019t, that\u2019s their loss. My HIV diagnosis has massively affected relationships with people, but those that really matter will stick around you, support you, lift you up when you\u2019re down and celebrate the successes with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone\u2019s got their own individual story about living with HIV, from diagnosis to their treatment. But one thing we all have in common is living with HIV doesn\u2019t mean it needs to massively impact your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m living with HIV but I\u2019m also thriving with HIV. It\u2019s not the thing I wake up to in the morning and think \u2018Oh my goodness, I\u2019m living with HIV today.\u2019 It\u2019s just part of my every day and I hope that\u2019s reassuring to hear if someone is going through a new diagnosis. There is hope, there is support, you are not on your own, and you will thrive and not just survive living with HIV.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Ali’s story is part of the H is for Human series, in collaboration with the Terrence Higgins Trust, sharing stories of strength, courage and hope from four decades of HIV in Scotland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n \n <\/svg><\/span>

H is for Human – Stories of strength, courage and hope. 40 years of HIV in Scotland<\/strong> Download the latest Humans of Scotland book<\/p>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

For more information on Terrence Higgins Trust and to learn about the work they do, follow this link<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen I was diagnosed my first thought was \u2018I\u2019m going to die\u2019, but my work colleagues said \u2018don\u2019t be ridiculous, there\u2019s medication out there, you\u2019re going to be fine\u2019. Thankfully they were right, and I was wrong. My health visitor explained to me at that stage, I didn\u2019t need to go on any medication, in … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":26259,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"26170,26155,26124,24164,25192,16162","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"hos-category":[839],"humans_tags":[481],"area_of_work":[776],"strategic_priority":[813],"class_list":["post-26254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","hos-category-h-is-for-human-stories-of-strength-courage-and-hope","humans_tags-mental-health","area_of_work-humans-of-scotland","strategic_priority-voice-of-lived-experience"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAli's story - Humans of Scotland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.alliance-scotland.org.uk\/humansofscotland\/alis-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ali's story - Humans of Scotland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cWhen I was diagnosed my first thought was \u2018I\u2019m going to die\u2019, but my work colleagues said \u2018don\u2019t be ridiculous, there\u2019s medication out there, you\u2019re going to be fine\u2019. 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