Islander living with HIV for 3 decades reflects on World AIDS Day

Troy Perrot-Sanderson has lived with human immunodeficiency virusfor almost 30 years,but he's only recently started talking abouthow he became infected.

"It's a very difficult thing for me to talk about," said Perrot-Sanderson, in an interview tied to Dec. 1, which is World AIDS Day. "I've only really started dealing with it."

He said he was 21 years old when he was sexually assaulted, while he was living in Alberta.

After the rape,Perrot-Sandersonsaid his life "spiralled" as he used drugs and alcohol to cope.

He has just startedto see a counsellor to help him deal with the trauma.

HIV, human immunodeficiency virus,attacks the body's immune system. If HIV isnot treated, it can lead toacquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS.

Perrot-Sandersonremembers that when he was first diagnosed, he thought his life was over. It took two decades after AIDS was first identified in the early 1980s to find an effective combination of drugs to treat it. In Canada alone, a 2017 report estimated,nearly 25,000 people had died of the disease by the end of 2016.

• CBC DIGITAL ARCHIVES: The early years of the AIDS crisis

"I just slowly prepared myself to die for a few years," Perrot-Sanderson said.

Advocate for others

He said he got more optimistic after he starting taking drugs to fight HIV.He volunteered and worked at AIDS PEI (later renamed PEERS Alliance)and was even acting executive director for a time.

"We can take medication and live a pretty normal life," he said.

Oftoday's PEERS leader, he added:"I can't thank them enough. They're doing all kinds of amazing work in the community."

PEERS Alliance runs a number of education and outreach programs,workingwitha wide variety of people includinggay and lesbianyouth and adults;the trans community; and people who use drugs, who are susceptible to getting infected due to shared needles.

Still, as Perrot-Sanderson marks this World AIDS Day,he said it's important to remember the people who have not survived, noting: "I have lost a lot of friends over the years."

He worries there's apathy around AIDSand HIV in 2021.

"A lot of people just don't talk about it or think about it any more," he said."We know how to protect ourselves nowwe certainly know so much more, we know how to prevent this disease."

Hopes for the future

Josie Baker is the executive director of PEERS Alliance, andhopes people will take part in an open house set up to mark World AIDS Day.

Baker noted that there is better access to testing now, with at-home kits available for use "in the comfort of someone's own home."

Baker said non-nominal testing is also available, where eachtest is assigned a number instead of a name before going to the lab for analysis. That means people can be assured nobody at the lab will know who tested positive.

There are still pressing issues that require lobbying, though, 40 years after the HIV crisis began. Baker said having an HIV care specialist on P.E.I. would help, sincemany have to go off-Island for specialized care.

Shealso said being HIV-positive still carries a stigma on P.E.I. and elsewhere, and people should be able to access care and live in their communities free of judgment.

"That would be my hope: to end the stigma," said Baker.

Perrot-Sandersonagrees, saying stigma often prevents people from seeking medical help.

"People ignore it and don't protect themselves," he said.