ABBIE
Because of or despite the trauma of a diagnosis women often feel that they are unable to process it because of their responsibilities such as parental or work responsibilities:
“When I was diagnosed with HIV Wow, there were a lot of things going on. So for one, I had had a very sick baby for a very long time. I had been tested through my pregnancy and come back negative. Because bubbie was so sick, they tested again and it came back negative. And then when he was nearly one I was tested again because I had a sexual assault and it came back positive for me. So instantly we knew. That’s why my baby had been so sick. So yeah, in that time, it was all about getting baby treatment, getting him in hospital, getting him on medication and seeing him get better so quickly, within a week. Cause he had very physical symptoms of his skin peeling and constantly having, you know, severe nappy rash to the point of bleeding. Yeah, so it was very bad but seeming him get better instantly. All his hair had fallen out from the skin peel and then his hair started growing back. So in that time, I guess my treatment and counseling and all those things that I would have normally had were really put off to focus on bubbie straight away.”