Natalie Gregg is 25 years old. Six months ago she found out that she has HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Her diagnosis was especially difficult for her to accept in that Natalie contracted HIV for her husband, Raymond.
"Before we got married, Raymond went through a pretty hard time. He lost two jobs, couldn't find work, couldn't pay his bills. He was feeling pretty awful about himself and started using drugs to try to numb all those bad feelings," Natalie recalls. Although she didn't know it at the time, Ray was injecting cocaine into his veins. At some point when Ray was injecting drugs he shared a needle with someone who had HIV.
Neither Natalie or Raymond knew their HIV status until Natalie became sick. Natalie says, "It seemed like I had a horrible cold that just wouldn't go away. When I finally went to the doctor I learned I had bacterial pneumonia. Then my doctor asked lots of questions. When he asked about drug use, I told him about Ray. When my doctor suggested an HIV antibody test, I was really scared. When the results came back positive, I was absolutely devastated."
Natalie and Raymond have worked together to come to terms with how HIV and AIDS affects their lives. When Raymond has periods of guilt, Natalie reminds him that this wasn't something either of them chose on purpose. With Natalie's encouragement, Ray has joined a speakers bureau so he can share their story with young people. By educating others, Natalie and Raymond hope to make something positive come of their experience. "When I start feeling down or depressed," says Natalie, "I remind myself that I have a life and I'm going to concentrate on living it."
For Natalie, living life means continuing to work at her job as a paralegal in a law firm. Natalie chose to tell her boss and close co-workers about her condition, believing the only way people can overcome their fear is by being around people living with AIDS. Like her husband, Natalie plans to continue talking to people about AIDS. She states, "I never thought my life would be touched by AIDS. Now that it has been, I want to do all I can to help others avoid contracting HIV."
Natalie is featured in The Kids on the Block Program on AIDS.