Alena
I am 37 years old, I found out that I have HIV at 18. Knowing about the diagnosis, I gave birth to children, got an education, got married, found friends, worked, traveled, in general – lived a full life. But, of course, it didn’t happen right away. When they just told me, and this happened during the first pregnancy, I was terrified, I thought that I would die. The doctors gave me time to think about whether to keep my child, but at the same time they insisted on an abortion. I decided to give birth: perhaps I wanted to leave a continuation behind me, perhaps I saw salvation in the child, some kind of purpose in order to live. Now it is difficult to say why I still decided to keep it. There was no support. Doctors predicted that even with a healthy lifestyle, I would last a maximum of 10 years.
