‘Life Goes On’: How I Navigate HIV After a Partner’s Betrayal

Sandra Ford’s journey with HIV is a poignant tale of betrayal, resilience, and ultimately, empowerment. Her story is a reminder of the complexities and challenges faced by individuals living with HIV, especially when trust is shattered. Ford’s encounter with HIV began in a way no one should ever experience. She trusted someone she grew up with, someone she considered family, only to find out that he had knowingly infected her with HIV. This revelation turned her life upside down. As a single mother of two young children, Ford was suddenly thrust into a world she knew little about, filled with fear, anger, and uncertainty. “The gentleman… the man that infected me… he knew that he was positive. Matter of fact, his whole family knew that he was positive,” Ford recalls. “But unbeknownst to me, he was HIV-positive and had been HIV-positive for quite some time.” She went for a checkup a year later and tested positive for HIV. The only person she had been with was him, and he initially denied it. It was only during a meeting with counselors and health department officials that he admitted to knowingly infecting her. The initial shock and anger Ford felt after learning...