New Health Leader - Brief Summary
Hi, my name is Mike Hellman and I’ve been living with HIV for 40 years now. In 1985 I went to a very old Health Department clinic to get a test for HIV. Three weeks later I was called in and told “you tested positive, put your life in order, and you’ll be dead in 18-24 months.”
Medical personnel were only seeing AIDS patients, they didn’t fully understand an early HIV diagnosis. I fortunately lived on the cusp of new advances in treatment but they often left me with debilitating conditions due to side effects of the newer medications. Aging with HIV has been a struggle but I am determined to live on doing the best I can. In HIV, I started taking over 12 pills a day and now I receive 2 shots every 2 months. I have gained so much freedom.
For over a decade, I told my story as part of a guest lecture on HIV 101 in schools, colleges, and universities. Since then I have published my living memoir telling my story using the stages of grief as a reference. “A Journey of Acceptance” has allowed me to continue sharing my story and expanding on advocating for others.
I have just been named the new recipient for the 2025 Kerry Stoner Lifetime Achievement Award in HIV/AIDS Advocacy.
Thank you
. It's a heavy heart I carry to positively uplift others. 
, I'm grateful for you and for all that you are doing to educate and uplift. - Warmly, Donna (Team Member)
, congratulations! I remember the days of the "death sentence". I remember having surgery in 1977 and making friends with a guy in the next room. He was so frail. He was covered in what I know now was Kaposi sarcoma, and the doctors didn't know what was wrong with him. I was in the hospital for less than 10 days, and by the time I left, he was on life support. He was wonderfully sweet, and it broke my heart.
I am so happy that you are in this world at a time where you are thriving and telling the story of the struggle to speak for others who don't have the words. - Warmly, Donna (Team Member)
