HIV FAQ: Is there a cure yet? I heard there was.

I expected this question would come up, as we hear it in person about once a month or so:

I've heard they have discovered a cure for the HIV virus, is this true?

No.

But I do think it's getting close. Next week when I answer questions about dating and sex, I hope they'll be answers that I'll never have to actually use. I hope a cure is found because our child is old enough to be considering what high school and college are like with HIV added to the mix.

That said, we adopted with the expectation that HIV would be a lifelong reality for our child.

But how awesome would it be if it weren't!

A Google news search for "cure for HIV" came up with nearly 9,000 results today, dozens of which are from the past week. In other words, those of you asking this question aren't the only ones talking about a cure for HIV. Unlike the other diagnoses represented in our family, HIV has a lot of visibility.

Usually, visibility = research dollars, so that's a good thing.

The two cases most people are referring to when they say they've heard about a cure are the one about the Mississippi baby and the one about the blood stem cell transplant patient known as the Berlin patient. From what I understand about the Mississippi case, the child was treated aggressively and immediately upon childbirth, and no other cases have been attempted; even if it could be repeated, it would only be a cure that would work for newborns and not for older patients. As for the Berlin patient's case, it's not been able to be replicated, so while it seems that the guy's HIV is gone, it's not a cure that has been able to be applied to other patients.

Or sometimes people are talking about kids like our friends' daughter. Courtney and Andrew adopted her, knowing she tested positive for HIV. Now she doesn't. Is she cured? No. She tested positive initially because her mother's HIV antibodies were still in her system. So it's not accurate to say she was cured (though we're rejoicing that she isn't HIV+!). It's more accurate to say that her initial testing gave a false positive because of her mother's HIV.

I am optimistic for a cure. It just hasn't been found yet.

But, whether it comes in our child's lifetime or not, we're thankful for the blessing of parenting each of our darlings.