The Journey Back from 3 T Cells

Surviving and thriving with an HIV diagnosis takes more than medicine. Longtime Atlanta resident Dee Dee Chamblee is the perfect example of will, perseverance and self-esteem. She bounced back from drug use, sex work, jail time and living with only 3 T cells to a healthy, happy life and is the founder of LaGender, a prominent Atlanta transadvocacy group. Dee Dee was recently profiled by thebody.com as part of their This Positive Life series.

“I was diagnosed 25 years ago, in 1987. And it was during the time when I was expecting it,” Dee Dee begins. “There were people dying all around me. We couldn't even keep up with the people that were dead.”

“You know, it was like a Holocaust. And it was a tragedy. We had no counseling to get through it. And so, when I became positive, I kind of denied it, went into denial for, like, seven years. Did drugs, alcohol, prostituted, and did the whole realm. And, really, literally was trying to kill myself; because that's the way it seemed that the world wanted me to just disappear. Nobody wanted to look at me. People were very discriminatory towards transgenders, as far as getting jobs and stuff like that. So my only choice was to prostitute at that time.”

“Once I found out, and after the seven years of denial, I realized that I hadn't went nowhere. So I decided I better brush the dirt off of me and kick the flowers to the side -- that the funeral is not going to be held, it doesn't seem. So I got up and I started trying to find me a support group, someone that could help me love myself again.”

With the help of Common Ground, Dee Dee did survive and flourish. She now runs a support group for transgenders in the prison, counsels young people, and is an advocate for transgender rights in the city, among other things. “We have to build an exterior to be able to withstand what we have to go through,” she states.

Dee Dee offers this advice to others: “Go to the doctor. See about yourself. Love yourself. And start on a new path, with new boundaries that you set for yourself in your new life that you're starting to live. Don't look at it as a curse. Look at it as: It has opened your eyes that you should not live the way that you live in order to contract this disease, and that "I need to live a healthier lifestyle for myself, because I can today. Today I have more opportunities that I can go about it and do it the right way, and come out and be a success story."

HIV Care Continuum Initiative

by AID Atlanta's Interim Executive Director Cathy Woolard In recent weeks, President Obama and HHS Secretary Sebelius have made major statements about the Administration’s HIV/AIDS strategy.  Nationally the number of total new infections has remained relatively stable at around 50,000 people annually, while the number of people living with HIV infection has increased.  This is a reflection of the impact of accumulated years of improvements in medical care as well as better systems of outreach and education regarding the importance of early diagnosis and adherence to treatment. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) should help make those numbers even better as more people will have access to insurance and the essential benefits that come from being insured.  Since the Affordable Care Act prohibits discrimination based on preexisting conditions and eliminates lifetime caps on medical expenditures, we hope to see more people with HIV getting into care early and staying connected over the course of their lives. But we still face challenges in the South.  Poverty, racism, stigma and discrimination all play a role in higher rates of transmission in the South.  These are not easy issues to confront or overcome and we have to work extra hard to stay ahead of the curve. The rates of HIV transmission among women and young men of color are significantly worse than other regions of the country.  We must learn, advocate and innovate to change the conditions that make our part of the country at such high risk for poor outcomes. Read more...