Living beyond HIV

My name is Racheal , and I am a widow. I had two children and they have both passed on, the first was 24 years when he passed, on the 21 April 2018 and the last one was 40 years and passed away on the 10 July 2018 on his birthday. My stepfather abused me at an early age. He used to beat my mother who was working in Polokwane Hospital every weekend. He used to take her salary to buy alcohol, he would not even return home. I am the last born in a family of 12 children. All my siblings passed away together with both my mother, and my father.

As if my life was not had enough I was raped by my friend’s brother who is an ex-convict. One day he found me with his sister sitting inside their house he then chased her away, I tried to run away with her but he forced me to stay and started beating me and forced himself on me.

I became a police, and meet a guy who lied to me and told me he was a widow and he had cancer. I feel in love with him and we used condom all the time but one day, he told me the condom busted. It took me a two week to go to the doctor. I did an HIV test and tested positive. I did not accept it initially until I was sick. I have started taking my ARV’s and I am fine now. My partner died in 2016.