‘I told Harry I thought I was going to die’ – Alfie
FORMER Wales rugby captain Gareth Thomas told Prince Harry he thought he was going to die when he was given his HIV diagnosis.
The Welsh legend spoke about his diagnosis in September, ahead of completing Ironman, because he wanted to reverse the stigma and change stereotypes.
“I was fearful of testing positive but I was fearful because I didn’t know what testing positive means,” he said.
“When I learnt that the quicker I get on medication, the quicker I’m no longer a risk, the quicker I could get my life back on track.
“That means I live an amazing life now, with a husband who’s HIV-negative and I know for a fact I’m no risk to him.
“What we’re trying to do now is destigmatise. ‘Aids’ is a frightening word.
“Stigma is a real thing.
Where we are now with HIV means it’s not a death sentence.
“I’m living proof. I would never have done an Ironman if I didn’t live with HIV.
“Living with HIV and realising how I could live my life gave me a renewed lease of life.”
He said his diagnosis was a “difficult thing to take”. He said he thought the diagnosis meant he would die.
“Because I didn’t have the education, when I was told I had HIV, I thought I was going to die. Sometimes, you need to know what it’s like to die to know what it’s really like to live.
“I’ll never forget that moment because it gives me the inspiration to live my life to the max every single day.
“But also the inspiration to make sure that other people who are told that news realise that actually they can have a life.
“We do so much around our health – going to the dentist, going to the doctor. But when it comes to sexual health testing, there’s the stigma and fear around it.”
Alfie spoke to the Duke of Sussex in a film released by the Terrence Higgins Trust to mark National HIV Testing Week.
The Terrence Higgins Trust, the UK’s leading HIV charity, said since Alfie revealed his HIV status publicly in September, the charity has seen a surge in orders for its HIV testing kits, mirroring a fivefold increase when the Duke of Sussex tested live on Facebook in 2016.
In their first meeting, Alfie explains to the Duke that, like many others, his knowledge of HIV was stuck in the 1980s and he thought he had been given a death sentence.
The pair share a joke when Prince Harry says that, with medication, Alfie shows you can live a “healthy, happy life and look relatively good-looking after a career in rugby”.
Laughing, Alfie responds: “Relatively... after a bit of work”.
At the end of the video, the Duke tells Alfie: “I believe in what you’re doing. It’s amazing,” before the pair share a hug.
To order a free HIV testing kit, visit startwithme. org.uk