The woman with HIV who inspired a romance novel
A woman with HIV, who inspired the plot of a romance novel, says "stigma is rife" about the virus.
Freya, whose name has been changed to protect her, found out she had HIV in 2006 and said at first it felt like a "death sentence".
But this has changed over the years and now she wants to urge people to get tested, as she believes "early diagnosis is key".
Freya has shared her story after her friend of 20 years, Ascot-based author Nicola May, released her latest book How Do I Tell You?
The book follows the life of 35-year-old Victoria Sharpe, who "gets devastating news that shatters everything she ever wanted for her future".
Freya says it took her a while to feel ready for the story to come out, as it includes elements of her journey after diagnosis and the stigma she says she experienced.
Remembering when she was tested for the virus, she said: "I thought it best to get fully checked as I was entering into a new relationship and wanted to make sure I was perfectly healthy.
"I was so petrified, even the nurses and the doctors, they handled me with thick gloves. I felt originally it was a death sentence."
Freya was monitored without having to go on medication and says when she told her friend Ms May, they both cried together.
Berkshire-based Ms May says her book is based on a completely fictitious character and there is an emphasis on getting tested early.
She explains: "I'm a storyteller by heart, this is a big issue to deal with and I intertwine the romance and story to make it light, but for people to be aware of HIV.
"Originally I was going to call the book Hello I'm Victoria, to have HIV down the front of the page, but my publisher thought that might put people off."
Freya says the stigma around the virus, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is still "rife".
After finding out she had HIV, Freya says talking to her previous and new partners was the "hardest thing", explaining her "self-esteem became non-existent".
"I felt very dirty, it only takes one time to get HIV but people will automatically assume you are promiscuous. I had to have some awkward conversations," she says.
Talking about the book, Freya says: "It is not my life story but we have lived this journey together as close friends over 20 years and it is a subject that needs to be talked about, the stigma around it is rife, I am anonymous today for that reason."
It has been almost 10 years since her diagnosis and Freya says she has come to terms with it and is happy with her partner.
She says: "Many years ago, a nurse said to me: 'One day, you will wake up and HIV won't be the first thing you think of'.
"I couldn't imagine that day would ever come but he was absolutely right, it did."
You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Rise in HIV testing for pop-up sexual health van
Berkshire podcast shortlisted for award
Billboards to end HIV-related stigma go on display
The people using their 'power' to tackle HIV stigma
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indianapolis Star
35 minutes ago
- Indianapolis Star
FDA: More cucumbers, ready-to-eat products recalled in growing salmonella outbreak
A Maryland food company has recalled specific salsa and cucumber products because they were made with cucumbers that are possibly contaminated with salmonella. TGD Cuts, LLC of Jessup, Maryland, is recalling some tub and tray products because they contained cucumbers from Boynton Beach, Florida-based Bedner Growers Inc., which have been linked to a salmonella outbreak. TGD Cuts distributed the affected products, which included salsas, sliced cucumbers and cucumber spears, to retail and foodservice locations in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and North Carolina, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The products had use-by dates ranging from May 20 to May 28 and are unlikely to be in stores or being used. No illnesses have been reported in connection with the products, the FDA said. Egg recall: Brown eggs sold at some Walmart stores have salmonella risk The initial May 19 recall involved cucumbers sold directly to consumers at Bednar's Farm Fresh Market, according to notices published May 19 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the FDA. Subsequent recalls have been announced by grocers such as Harris Teeter, Kroger and Walmart for repackaged cucumbers for resale under different brand names or those used in ready-to-eat products, including vegetable trays and salads. The cucumbers, distributed by Fresh Start Produce Sales of Delray, Florida, also led to Target recalling individual cucumbers on May 30, specifically cucumber two-packs and various prepared foods products. In addition to the growing cucumber-related recall, other products have been recalled recently for potential salmonella contamination. The FDA on May 28 upgraded a recall of tomatoes distributed in three southern states to a Class I recall, meaning consumption of the food could cause serious health complications or lead to death. Then, on June 6, the CDC and FDA linked brown eggs sold in nine states – including at some Walmart stores – to an ongoing Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak, in which 79 people have been sickened and at least 21 hospitalized. Customers who purchased any products from TGD Cuts should get rid of them or return them for a full refund. Here is the list of products recalled due to a possible salmonella risk. Salmonella poisoning causes about 1.35 million illnesses, 26,500 hospitalizations, and 420 deaths each year in the U.S., according to the CDC and FDA. Symptoms, which include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps, will usually occur six hours to six days after exposure and may last up to seven days. Symptoms from severe infections may include aches, headaches, elevated fever, lethargy, rashes, and blood in urine or stool. Mike Snider is a reporter on USA TODAY's Trending team. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @ & @mikesnider & msnider@
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Former MLB pitcher Steven Register finds liver donor in high-school classmate he hadn't seen in 20 years
A man's Facebook plea for a liver donor attracted the attention of a high-school acquaintance he hadn't spoken to in 20 years. In April 2024, after experiencing appetite loss and losing 15 pounds in a month, Steven Register, 42, was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, according to news agency SWNS. Advertisement Doctors told the former MLB pitcher — who played for the Colorado Rockies in 2008 and the Philadelphia Phillies in 2009 — that a liver transplant was likely his best chance of survival. 'When we first met with the doctors, they gave me a year to a year-and-a-half to live,' Register said, adding that he and his wife, Beth, immediately started researching options. The couple traveled from Auburn, Alabama, to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where Register underwent surgery for a temporary ostomy bag and began chemotherapy, per the SWNS report. Plans for the liver resection were canceled when doctors discovered the tumors were too large, which led the couple to consider a transplant. Advertisement Register's wife created a Facebook group to search for a living liver donor, hoping someone would come forward in time. 4 Steven Register's wife created a Facebook group to search for a living liver donor. Beth Register / SWNS An unexpected volunteer Kristin Johnston, a 40-year-old preschool teacher from Roswell, Georgia, saw the post and recognized Register as a former high-school classmate. The two had met in 1999 at Shaw High School in Columbus, Georgia, but hadn't spoken in over two decades. Advertisement 'It was just so far out of left field,' said Register, who couldn't believe it when Johnston volunteered to donate part of her liver. 4 The preschool teacher recognized Register from high school and offered to donate part of her liver. Kristin Johnston / SWNS He added to SWNS, 'I haven't seen or talked to her in over 20 years, and for her to reach out like that, it was just meant to be.' Johnston said she started by doing a quick online search for live liver donation and discovered that blood type compatibility was the first step. Advertisement 'I just sent him a message,' she said. 'I said, 'Hey, what's your blood type?' and he said, 'I'm B positive.'' 4 Johnston took this image in the hospital. Kristin Johnston / SWNS She responded, 'Wait, that's mine, too,' and offered, 'I'll happily donate a lobe if I'm a match.' Johnston was later cleared as a match and received the confirmation on a meaningful day. 'I got the news on Good Friday, of all days, that I was officially cleared as his liver donor,' she said. Surgery and second chances The surgery, which is expected to take 12 to 14 hours, will involve removing 70% of Johnston's liver and transplanting it into Register, according to SWNS. Both her remaining liver and the donated portion will regenerate over time, giving both a second chance at health. 'For her, she is ultimately giving him the gift of life — for him, a really fresh start in this journey,' said Beth Register. Advertisement 4 Register is a former MLB pitcher who played for the Colorado Rockies and Philadelphia Phillies. Beth Register / SWNS Steven Register said he hoped that 'once I get my liver with all the tumor and cancer out, I'll be cancer-free from there.' The Register family — including children McKenzie (16), Blakely (14) and Brooks (8) — launched a fundraiser on SupportNow to help with travel, food and medical expenses. Johnston and her husband Cody, 38, a real estate developer, have three kids of their own — Sawyer (9), Teddy (7) and Dahlia (4). Raising awareness and faith Advertisement Beth Register said she hopes their family's story raises awareness about the impact of living organ donation. 'A lot of people don't realize that live donations, whether it be for livers or kidneys, are even an option,' she said. She added that Johnston had been selfless from the start. Advertisement The families believe fate had a hand in reconnecting them, per SWNS. 'We just pray that God is opening all the right doors and that Kristin is the perfect donor for him,' Beth Register said. 'We just appreciate her being willing to put her life on pause to hopefully lengthen his life by many, many, many years.'
Boston Globe
4 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Will Trump's policies kill Massachusetts' life sciences leadership?
Advertisement Although the industry is centered in eastern Massachusetts, there's a statewide benefit from all the tax dollars those businesses and workers pay. Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up In all, Massachusetts organizations — including universities, research institutes, and hospitals — received $3.5 billion in funding from the National Institutes of Health. Massachusetts-headquartered companies raised $3.26 billion in venture capital funding. Among all drugs in the development pipeline in the United States, 15 percent were being made by companies headquartered in Massachusetts. But actions taken by President Trump and his administration — cutting funding for scientific research and universities, flirting with tariffs, fanning skepticism about vaccines — threaten to devastate the ecosystem. Today, the industry is at a precipice, and uncertainty abounds. Some companies are already feeling the pinch of terminated federal grants, while others are anxious about what might come. Taken together, Trump's policies could force some companies and scientists to take their money, talents, and products overseas. Advertisement Christopher Locher, CEO of Lowell-based Versatope Therapeutics, which develops a platform to deliver vaccines and therapeutics, said he worries the Greater Boston life sciences ecosystem is 'being flushed down the toilet.' For example, Trump is Trump's funding cuts are already having a large impact on some local companies. Part of the problem is the Trump administration isn't only cutting funding, but it's picking which technologies to fund — in some cases apparently based on politics more than science. Take flu vaccines. The Trump administration recently announced a $500 million campaign to fund the development of a universal flu vaccine, which doesn't require annual updates, using technology being worked on But simultaneously, he cut funding for other work on a universal flu vaccine. Versatope Therapeutics got $14 million in NIH funding and spent five years developing a universal flu vaccine. It had approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to begin clinical trials when Trump terminated the contract's remaining $8 million, with the reason given being 'convenience,' Locher said. Trump also Advertisement Company executives say decisions by Trump officials to disinvest in vaccine-related technology — and concerns about whether government will approve new technology — means it's nearly impossible to find private investment funding to replace lost federal dollars. 'We're faced with bankruptcy in the very near future,' Locher said. Ironically, given Trump's stated commitment to bringing businesses back to the United States, one potential option Locher is eyeing is opening a subsidiary abroad. Conducting clinical trials would be cheaper in another country, whether in Europe, Australia, or China, Locher said, and some countries are offering financial incentives to American companies to relocate. Companies also face a potential workforce brain drain. There have been MassBio officials said China has less rigorous — but faster — safety and research protocols than the US. Australia allows a faster timeline for clinical trials. If regulatory approval of medicines is held up because the FDA is understaffed, companies may seek European regulatory approval instead. The loss of talent to foreign countries will be compounded if the pipeline of local university graduates dries up. One draw for life sciences companies to Boston/Cambridge is the presence of elite schools like Harvard and MIT, with their potential for faculty collaboration and skilled graduates. Advertisement Trump is trying to Chip Clark, CEO at Vibrant Biomedicines in Cambridge, said cuts to university research funding both 'shrink the pipeline of great ideas' that form the basis for many biotech startups and translate to fewer available scientists. Clark said the administration's policies 'seem like a deliberate attempt to try to cede scientific leadership to Europe and Japan and Korea and China. ... They will be delighted to capitalize on our talent, technology, and investment capital to make their robust biotech sectors grow and ultimately compete successfully against the US industry,' he said. Don Ingber, founding director of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, said he has postdocs with US visas applying for jobs in Europe, and others who were accepted to work at Harvard but are going elsewhere. 'The fact that places like Harvard and MIT and American universities are magnets for the best and brightest from around the world is what's driven our technology economy and certainly the Boston/Cambridge ecosystem,' Ingber said. 'With this uncertainty, I fear we'll lose a generation.' Ingber, who was forced to stop work on two government-funded projects on drugs designed to prevent injury from radiation exposure, compared administration policies to 'eating seed corn' needed to grow crops. Advertisement Trump's vendetta will undermine one of the most vibrant state economies in the country and set back American science by years. And it's not just eastern Massachusetts that will pay a price; the entire country will. As Ingber noted, it might take years to see the impact of medicines or technologies that aren't developed because of these shortsighted cuts. Editorials represent the views of the Boston Globe Editorial Board. Follow us
