Avoca woman HIV positive and living a healthy, happy life
When Niqita noticed that her health was starting to deteriorate, she had knew she had to start taking ARVs.
AS the world commemorated World AIDS Day on today (December 1), the Northglen News met with Niqita Pieterse, an HIV positive Avoca woman, who has a goal to fulfill, and that is to remove the stigma associated with living with HIV/AIDS.
Pieterse was raped at the age of 17 and, a few months later, started showing symptoms of having the virus.
“I didn’t want to accept it because I had just lost my mum, and I was not ready to deal with this as well. The symptoms spoke no lies as I had pimples on my body, my hair was falling out, I had shingles and oral thrush. I also lost a lot of weight,” she said.
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Having minimal knowledge about the virus, Niqita quickly began researching the disease, treatment and how to still live a quality life.
“I started taking the ARVs and went on a short course on how to manage the virus and still lead a fairly normal life. When I started taking ARVs my symptoms started to disappear. I am in a relationship, and I have two sons from my partner. All three of them are HIV negative. My partner goes for tests regularly,” she said.
She then decided to share her story on social media and took to Twitter and Facebook with her personal experiences.
A few years ago, Pieterse discovered TikTok, where she has gained a massive following, posting about her life story, sharing knowledge about living with HIV/AIDS and creating awareness about the benefits of taking ARVs.
“Taking ARVs reduces your viral load, which decreases the chances of you transmitting it to someone else. I go for viral load tests regularly too. I had a normal birth for both my children and even breast fed them. My partner and children don’t have the virus, so it is very possible to still have a family even if you are HIV positive, provided that you take your medication regularly,” said Pieterse.
Some of the side effects that she experiences are kidney infections and dizzy spells, but only if she takes her tablet without eating.
“I was labelled and shamed when I revealed my status. People don’t only get the virus from leading promiscuous lives. Many are still ashamed to reveal their status in the community I live. We should show support towards each other instead of stigmatising a person who has HIV or AIDS,” she said.
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