Woman with HIV warns others to get tested

By, Ashley Andyshak, Fredericknewspost.com, March 21, 2008

Jessica Haidon was three months pregnant when she found out she had HIV.
At the start of her relationship with her son's father, he told her he didn't have it. When she confronted him again after her diagnosis, he confessed he'd been infected for six years.

Haidon got the necessary treatment, and she's thankful the virus was not passed to her son, Nicholas, now 14 months old. She said she's speaking out now so the same thing doesn't happen to more women.

"The most important thing is to go get tested together," Haidon said. "You can't trust what people say, and some people don't even know they have it."

Debbie Anne, the HIV/AIDS program supervisor at the Frederick County Health Department, said most couples who come to the department to get tested for HIV are young, and she wishes more would do the same.

People younger than 30 reported a quarter of the state's 2,000 new HIV cases in 2006, and the highest number of diagnoses over the last several years has been among women ages 15 to 39, according to statistics from the health department. More than 18,000 Marylanders have HIV, and in another 14,000, the virus has progressed to AIDS.

The presence of other sexually transmitted diseases increases the likelihood of acquiring or transmitting HIV, and these diseases are prevalent among young women. A study released this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that one in four teenage girls have at least one STD.

"The gap that once existed between the number of men contracting HIV and the number of women has now closed," Anne said, and heterosexual contact is now the No. 1 method of transmission in Maryland.

Haidon and her son moved from Buffalo, N.Y., to Frederick in August to be closer to her mother, and she's been continuing her treatment at the health department.

She meets with Anne at least once every three months to monitor her immune system's functioning and the amount of virus in her bloodstream, both indicators of the disease's progression.

On a typical day, Haidon feels as healthy as she did before her diagnosis, just more tired, she said. It's a common symptom of those in early stages of the disease, and Haidon's lucky she was diagnosed when she was, Anne said.

"Many people don't get tested until they end up in the ER," Anne said, at which point the disease has likely progressed to AIDS. "It's much better to get diagnosed earlier." With treatment, those infected with HIV can die of old age, instead of AIDS, Anne said.

Fear of a positive diagnosis may keep some people from getting tested for HIV, but getting treatment and preventing transmission of the disease to someone else should trump the fear of finding out, Haidon said.

The fear of reactions from others can cause some young people to resist testing as well. After Haidon was diagnosed, her family and friends were supportive, but she's seen others in her situation who haven't been as fortunate.

"If somebody tells their family, they shouldn't turn them away," she said. "It doesn't make you a bad person."

Source: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyID=72724