My name is Emitt Scott and I am 48 years old. I am currently suffering with a disease that is familiar to a lot of people and the disease that I'm suffering with is HIV AIDS. 

 

AIDS was big back in the 80's and I happen to be one of the ones who had it. You see, there are many different ways that a person can get this particular disease and the way I got it was through a blood transfusion.

 

It was the summer of 1985. I had just graduated from high school, my son had just been born and life was great! It was a hot sunny day on June, 11th, 1985 when I passed out from a heat stroke while cutting grass. My head hit the hot concrete so hard, my head split wide open which caused me to lose a lot of blood. I had to have a blood transfusion simply because I lost so much blood. You see, it wasn't until I was sitting in the chair waiting for a blood transfusion when I realized that getting a blood transfusion could be dangerous. You see it was July, 14th, 1985 when I was diagnosed with that disease called HIV.

 

I was hurt physically, mentally, and emotionally. You see, the person that I received the blood transfusion from had AIDS, but no one knew it; the only thing that the doctors knew about that person's blood is that it was the same blood type as mine so therefore it was a good match.

 

It was a month after I received the blood transfusion when I went back for a follow up visit and during the visit I received results from my blood work that I thought I never would receive. It changed my life forever. The doctor told me that I contracted HIV through the transfusion.

 

I was hurt physically because of the pain that I was feeling in my body from this disease. I was hurt mentally because once people found out that I contracted HIV, they began to talk about me and make comments that were cruel. People said the reason I had HIV was because I was a homosexual, but in reality I'm not a homosexual at all. They said that I let different men get ahold of me and that's the reason I had HIV, but in reality that wasn't the reason at all. I was hurt emotionally because I knew there was no cure for this particular disease that I have.

 

How can a person survive with HIV? Well I'm surviving with the help of the Lord. You see, there were times when I wanted to give up and take my own life simply because I knew there was no cure for me, but I knew by taking my own life; it wouldn't make the situation any better. I'm surviving because I'm determined to not let anyone dictate whether I'm going to live or die. I'm surviving because I have a family that loves me no matter what the outside world is saying. I might weep and I might even wonder, why me? The reason why I'm going through this is to help someone else who is suffering with this disease. My advice to you is to live your life with confidence and with dignity because if you don't; you will die sooner than the doctors expect you to live. I'm suffering with this disease, but I'm happy because I refuse to let this disease ruin my life. You might be suffering with a disease right now; it might not be a disease within the body, but it might be another type of disease. I have one question for you. Which disease is holding you back from living the life that you want to live? 

 

In Peace