Jasmine’s SPEAK OUT Speech

Hi my name is Jasmine, I am in the 8th grade now and school is ok. I have good grades and like school but most of all I like weekends so I can hang out at the mall with my friends.

I am 14 yrs old and have HIV, I was born with it.

The doctor told my mom not to have me. He said I would not live to be 5 years old, but as you can see she didn’t listen. I am here. She found a new doctor and he told her about a study that would reduce the chance of me being born with HIV. So, she joined the study, but I was still born with HIV. I was one of the 8% of kids who DID end up getting it.

I have sleep-overs at my friends houses, but this can be hard because of all my meds. When I was younger I wasn’t allowed to sleep at anyone’s house because I had a G-TUBE in my stomach for taking medicine. I couldn’t hide taking my medicine. I could not swallow the pills and they tasted so nasty, it tasted like drinking gasoline. So the doctors put a g-tube in my stomach and I took all of my meds in liquid form. When I was younger, I took 6 different HIV meds - 3 is the normal amount for an adult and I was taking SIX! Now I am on 3 different HIV meds. In addition to those, I take medicine for nerve damage (side effect of hiv meds) and calcium medicine (another side effect).

My meds still make it hard for me to sleep at friends house’s because they ask lots of questions. That is one of the reasons camp is so important to me. I can go there and be me and not have to hide anything from anyone. Some of the meds I am on now have other side effects and I have to go to the doctor for check-ups every 6 weeks. I take keletra- which causes abdominal pain, being weak and tired, skin rash and the possible long term side effects are problems with my pancreas and liver which can cause death. I am also on sustiva which causes dizziness, trouble sleeping, head aches, and feeling sick to my stomach. The possible long term side effects of this drug are heart problems. Lastly, I am on truvada, which can cause kidney problems. The worst side affect from this med is too much acid in my blood which could cause death.

I have been teased about having HIV/AIDS so many times. I have even had to move because people found out. I guess this is why I like hanging out at the mall so much with my friends - to forget all the craziness in my life. That is also why I love Project Kindle so much because I can be open about it and be a kid…

“GIVE”

Go get gold and complete your goal to find a cure for HIV and AIDS.
I feel mad, sad, ungrateful, angry, and tired of you HIV.
Virus is killing kids.
Everyone has it.

— Jasmine