Denise Becker Wozniak was unaware that she was living with HIV until she gave birth to a baby girl, Katie, who was six months old when diagnosed with the virus and died three months later.
The diagnosis came as a shock for Wozniak, who has since dedicated herself to sharing her story and the importance of HIV awareness. Here she talks about her experience as a woman living with HIV, with treatment and her outlook on how we can put a stop to the disease.
BC-CfE: You are very open about your story of contracting HIV and your experience with HIV. What do you hope to accomplish by sharing your story?
Denise Becker Wozniak: I hope that people will feel less isolated by knowing there are other women who have stories to share. I hope to turn a statistic to a face and help the people who are not HIV positive to see the value of getting tested, getting educated and not judging others because I was there once myself. If I had been tested during pregnancy, Katie might never have become HIV-positive because I may have been given medication even in those early days.
BC-CfE: What support did you encounter in the health care community after receiving your diagnosis?
DBW: I was extremely fortunate to be diagnosed at BC Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital in Vancouver. That meant I was treated with compassion and understanding. Since then I have been a patient of Dr. Julio Montaner and that meant I was always on the cutting edge of antiretroviral treatment and trials, I believe it saved my life when I had some reactions to various medications.
BC-CfE: How has the made-in-BC Treatment as Prevention¨ program affected your life?
DBW: I believe the BC Treatment as Prevention¨ program has shown clearly that, when you are on sustained medication and have an undetectable viral load, you can live in a serodiscordant relationship (with someone who is not HIV positive) and feel safe in the knowledge that you will not pass HIV on. Education is only passed on by people wanting to learn and the more that the public knows about the effectiveness of the medication, the less stigma will be directed at people who have HIV.
BC-CfE: Do you see British Columbia as a successful model in the treatment and prevention of HIV?
DBW: I believe I am extremely fortunate to live in BC. The provincial government has realized the cost effectiveness of Treatment as Prevention¨ and has stood beside the BC-CFE in their support. I know that BC is a leader in this field and that the work has been recognized internationally. With the change in Canada’s government, I hope that other people, particularly in Saskatchewan and the other Prairie Provinces, will also have the opportunity to live longer through treatment, as well. However, and this is a big however, there needs to be a good look at the self-esteem, PTSD, mental issues that stem from childhood, youth and even adulthood that can lead people to receiving an HIV diagnosis. Total prevention will also hinge on that those factors, and other socio-determinants, which can affect health outcomes.
BC-CfE: Do you think there are facts or figures about HIV that Canadians would be surprised to learn?
DBW: When I do presentations to the public about living with HIV, people are still amazed to know that women who are tested during pregnancy or before, who take medication and are careful to take it as prescribed, are able to have babies who are uninfected. It is a truly incredible success story and it seems that much of the public is still unaware of this fact. In addition, I don’t think many people know how the medication can stop transmission. Taking HIV medication suppresses the virus to undetectable levels so that you don’t transmit. Education is very lacking in schools and in public generally. But to be educated people have to take an interest, rather than be in blissful ignorance.
BC-CfE: Do you still see stigma against HIV?
DBW: Stigma is not dead. It is a tragedy that after all this time there is still a lack of knowledge. I believe this starts and ends with government and the justice system. Until those bodies show they are on board with knowledge, treatment and fighting stigma then there will always be phobia, and people with HIV will not be able to get out from under the shame and blame that is put on them. We, as people living wih HIV, will also continue to stigmatize ourselves until we can feel that there is understanding.
BC-CfE: How can the community work towards ending AIDS by 2030, achieving the 90-90-90 Target established by UNAIDS and the United Nations?
DBW: Everyone needs to work together: scientists; governments; doctors, psychiatrists, activists; educators; drug companies; international, national and local health groups; and the justice system. Before he died in the tragic 1998 Swissair 111 flight, Dr. Jonathan Mann, the former head of WHO’s AIDS program, spoke at the 1996 World AIDS conference and pressed for groups to come together with a common goal of ridding the world of this disease. I remember being in a crowded room listening to him and I felt the urgency in his words. I dream of the day he spoke of, and that people will remain uninfected and not have to go through finding out they have HIV.