A man asks his doctor ‘Will I ever play the
piano again?’ She says, ‘Could you play it
before?’ and, of course, the answer is ‘No’.
It’s an old joke, but it makes you think ‘What is
a normal life?’ Very few people go through life
without being affected by some kind of medical problem or illness.
Tricia
I was thinking ‘This is the worst thing that could happen to anyone’ but I stopped myself, by saying ‘Well cancer is pretty bad, and I haven’t got that’. It’s important to keep a perspective on HIV. After all, it’s only an illness and plenty of people have things a lot worse than me.
Patrick
A normal life? No. I have the most extraordinary life. But it is great, not horrible and now I fill everyday with all the things I’d thought about doing ‘someday’. It has made me really see that you only get one chance in this world.
Mary
My faith is stronger, my love for my family and friends is deeper. I feel loved and supported and more in control of my life than I did before. Having to learn to live with HIV has been tough, but I’m still here and I’ve definitely grown up as a person.
The simple answer to this last question in our booklet is “YES”.
There may be things that you have to do a bit differently, some may be more difficult, take longer or seem impossible. But there are many thousands of people living with HIV in the UK whose lives are full and rewarding. You can take strength from knowing that other people have achieved this, and you can too.
Move on to Where can I get advice and information?