From counting her days to live to advocating for the prevention of infections, Fiona Moore has come a long way in her journey with HIV.
First diagnosed at the age of 30, she thought her life was over.
“At that time, I didn’t know anything about HIV or antiretrovirals (ARVS). On that same day, the journey started,” she says. “On that day, when I found out my status, I wanted to commit suicide in front of my parents. Today, I can proudly say that I accept my status.”
Moore shared her story as a patient advocate at the launch of the U=U campaign on Tuesday 1 August.
The campaign – Undetectable equals Untransmittable – was launched by Premier Alan Winde and Western Cape Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Nomafrench Mbombo.
Moore admits that a lack of education about the disease meant she was afraid of it.
“Those big tablets scared me. I decided to google and (research),” she says.
Stigma was one issue she faced when sharing her status.
“When I shared my status with some of my family members, that is where the discrimination started. It didn’t come from outside,” she says.
She believed this illness was a death sentence, only giving herself a short few years to live but doctors knew better.
“I told myself I was going to die tomorrow, and now 16 years later, God came through,” she says.
A patient at the Mitchell’s Plain clinic, she credits her positive journey to their care.
“It is also because of Mitchell’s Plain staff and the clinic that I am where I am, being U=U today,” she says. “The journey I walked, I am proud of. Today, I can proudly say that I am a woman living with HIV,” she says.
She has used her story to advocate for others who were once where she was.
“Out there, in the community, there are a lot of women that are depending on me because I used to be that scared girl. Today, I am not scared because there are women out there that don’t understand their status. We have to educate our community. We have to educate our ministers. We have to educate ourselves and that girl,” she says.
