Natalie
Hometown: Bronx, New York
Positive Since: 1993
Relationship Status: Single
Age: 42
Favorite Quote: "A body in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force."
I was born in the Bronx, New York. I was placed up for adoption by my birth mother who was fifteen at the time. When she had me I was placed in foster care until I was five years old. I was brought into a family with a mom and dad, two brothers—Pat and Ryan—and one sister, Theresa. We always had everything. My mom and dad worked very hard to keep our family together.
My brother Patrick graduated and got a job he’s had since he was seventeen. He is married with one son. My sister Therea finished school and went on to learn massage therapy. She is presently working for a loan company in Florida. She has a husband and two children. My mother lives with them. My other brother, Ryan, has cerebral palsy and epilepsy. He is living at school for independent living and is doing very well.
I am presently living in New York State with my four children.
Anthony is sixteen. He’s going into the 11th grade next year. He likes basketball, video games, hanging out and talking to his girl. He’s a big help when I ask him to do things around the house.
My second oldest is RaKeem. He is fourteen and very outgoing. He is always doing things such as racing, running, climbing and always competes to win. He always helps friends in need and has a nack for being funny at a spur of the moment.
Ashia is my thirteen year old daughter. She is always joking, laughing, and singing. She loves to swim and be around her friends. She also loves music and knows all of the words to Missy Elliott. Ashia is a straight A student.
Cassaundra is my ten year old. She is my brown baby. She is very outgoing. She likes her bedtime stories, teddy bears, and music. She can do all of the dances and knows the words like Ashia. She struggles in reading but is doing better.
My Message Board
MATALIE
Posted August 25th, 2009IN GENERAL AS A HUMAN RACE WE MUST COME TOGETHER TO EDUCATE OUR YOUTH. STILL IN THIS DAY AND AGE THERE IS STEREOTYPING AMONG OUR TEENAGERS AND OUR YOUNG ADULTS. A LOT OF THEM AREN'T GETTING THE INFORMATION AND WHEN THEY DO, THEY SOMETIMES GET THE WRONG INFORMATION. IN THIS DAY AND AGE THE 21ST CENTURY WITH TECHNOLOGY BEING AS UP TO DATE AS IT IS, GETTING OUR YOUNG ADULTS AND TEENAGERS TO UNDERSTAND THAT HIV/AIDS IS VERY MUCH STILL HERE AND THAT THERE IS NO CURE AND THEY CAN GET INFECTED IF THEY AREN'T CAREFUL IS VERY IMPORTANT. THEY ARE THE ONES THAT NEED EDUCATION, IN THE SMALL COMMUNITIES AS WELL AS THE BIG CITIES. WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO EDUCATE EACH OTHER AND OUR CHILDREN.
Michael
Posted July 11th, 2009Hi Nat i made it to your site. Your family sounds great and u show that u r a proud, loving; and strong single parent. Through all the adversity that u have experienced u have prevailed. Do you know why your eyes r in the front of u? Looking for your answer.
Anonymous
Posted August 21st, 2009It's because I try to stay focused and positive, and stay optimistic about things in general. A lot of time when we are given a situation, at the time it can always seem worse than what it is. Always keep your focus and your eyes on your goals. The reward will pay off in the end.
natalie lance
Posted December 1st, 2009When I first told my best friend Linda about my status, there were a bunch of questions she wanted to know. We both feel it's very important for people to have a better understanding what it's like to be HIV positive. I am thankful I have Linda. She is my best friend and my sister. I couldn't have done this personal interview without her help. So I give her all the credit for wanting to make a difference in people's lives by educating people every where.
Natalie:
Me and Natalie became friends over a cup of coffee. She and I run on the stuff. We met at a coffee house my husband and I went to. She came in and just kept coming in for coffee. I still remember the day she told me and my husband that she had HIV. She was worried about my reaction to the news. She thought I would tell her that I didn't want to be her friend anymore, but I told her that it didn't matter to me. If you get to know the person, and not the disease, then you win and ignorance loses. Being ignorant doesn't mean your stupid. It just means that you don't understand something.
HIV is something that everybody should understand. It can touch your life even if you don't want it to. I never expected to talk to and become friends with someone who has HIV. I always thought that you had to hang out in certain environments to catch HIV. Boy was I wrong. From an HIV negative stand point, here is our interview:
Linda: How did you feel when you first found out you were HIV positive?
Natalie: I felt alone with no one to turn to.
Linda: When you found out you were pregnant with your youngest daughter and had HIV, what was your first thought?
Natalie: I was shocked. I was stunned. I didn't know what to think and at the same time, I was worried.
Linda: How did you deal with the first week of your daughter's life knowing she could devleop HIV/AIDS?
Natalie: I prayed aimlessly for my daughter's life and for her not to be infected.
Linda: Have you ever felt left out, or been disrespected by somebody because of your HIV status?
Natalie: I have come across people who don't understand what HIV is. I still try to educate them about my HIV status, so they can protect themselves and educate others.
Linda: How do you feel when you tell new friends about your HIV status?
Natalie: I get nervous sometimes, but I think about how I was infected and I don't want anyone to get infected the way I did. I just hope they will listen to my story so they can stay safe and not get infected.
Linda: How did your family react when you told them you had HIV?
Natalie: My mother didn't talk to me at first. She was very upset along with everyone else in my family but then they got educated and became very supportive. They started to raise awareness and educate other people about HIV/AIDS.
Linda: Your kids are aware of you having HIV. How about your friends and there kids?
Natalie: My children are very supportive and so are my friends and there children. They have given me a lot of love and support. They tell me that what I'm doing is a good thing. It will help educate a lot of people. It will also give them the tools they need to make the right choice and to be safe.
Linda: What is the most important question you want people to know about HIV/AIDS?
Natalie: HIV/AIDS doesn't care who you are. Education is very important. You can't get infected just by being around someone who is infected with HIV/AIDS. We are the same as everyone else. We are mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters. We are here and we are just looking for people to understand that we didn't ask to be HIV positive. We want to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS with love, understanding and education. We also want to keep educating each other so we can protect ourselves and each other against the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Linda: How has HIV affected the rest of your health?
Natalie: I have been very blessed with my health. I've been HIV positive for 17 years and I eat right, get my rest, and follow the advise of my doctors. I don't take my health for granted. I try to stay healthy buy staying away from alcohol, drugs, worrying and stress, because I know those things can harm my health. I listen to my body when things don't feel right. Over all I'm pretty healthy.
Linda: Do some of the med you take have side effects?
Natalie: Yes. When I first started taking my HIV meds, I use to get headaches and an upset stomach. I also had some nausea for about 3 weeks. Afterward I was fine, but it's different for everyone who takes meds because everyone's body is different.
Linda: How many subtypes of HIV-1 are there?
Natalie: The strains of HIV-1 can be classified into four groups: the "major" group M, the "outlier" group O and two new groups, N and P. These four groups may represent four separate introductions of simian immunodeficiency virus into humans.
The different levels of HIV classification:
Group O appears to be restricted to west-central Africa and group N - a strain discovered in 1998 in Cameroon - is extremely rare. In 2009 a new strain closely relating to gorilla simian immunodeficiency virus was discovered in a Cameroonian woman. It was designated HIV-1 group P.1 More than 90% of HIV-1 infections belong to HIV-1 group M and, unless specified, the rest of this page will relate to HIV-1 group M only.
Within group M there are known to be at least nine genetically distinct subtypes (or clades) of HIV-1. These are subtypes A, B, C, D, F, G, H, J and K.
Occasionally, two viruses of different subtypes can meet in the cell of an infected person and mix together their genetic material to create a new hybrid virus (a process similar to sexual reproduction, and sometimes called "viral sex"). Many of these new strains do not survive for long, but those that infect more than one person are known as "circulating recombinant forms" or CRFs. For example, the CRF A/B is a mixture of subtypes A and B.
The classification of HIV strains into subtypes and CRFs is a complex issue and the definitions are subject to change as new discoveries are made. Some scientists talk about subtypes A1, A2, A3, F1 and F2 instead of A and F, though others regard the former as sub-subtypes.
Linda: What about subtypes E and I?
One of the CRFs is called A/E because it is thought to have resulted from hybridization between subtype A and some other "parent" subtype E. However, no one has ever found a pure form of subtype E. Confusingly, many people still refer to the CRF A/E as "subtype E" (in fact it is most correctly called CRF01_AE).3
A virus isolated in Cyprus was originally placed in a new subtype I, before being reclassified as a recombinant form A/G/I. It is now thought that this virus represents an even more complex CRF comprised of subtypes A, G, H, K and unclassified regions. The designation "I" is no longer used.4
After our interview, Linda and I continue to feel it's very important to keep educating as many people as we can so other people can learn and protect themselves and help others stay safe.
by Linda Johnson and Natalie Lance