Oldest HIV patient celebrates 100th birthday. He is healthy, fit and hopeful for other HIV positive people
Lisbon patient celebrates 100th birthday
"I feel happy, I have lived many years without difficulties and worries," said the man, who wishes to remain anonymous due to the ongoing stigma associated with HIV and uses the pseudonym Miguel when contacting the media. Doctors then refer to him as the Lisbon patient in numerous reports and case studies...
Miguel was diagnosed with the disease in 2004, already in stage 3, i.e. in its advanced form. He was 84 years old at the time and had no idea that he was HIV positive, nor did he know when or how he became infected. However, according to medical estimates, he had been living with the virus for at least the previous ten years without knowing it at all. Despite his advanced age and not-so-positive outlook, Miguel decided to fight the disease - despite his doctor's skepticism. "When this patient visited me, I had doubts about whether he should be treated at all, given his age and diagnosis," said Dr Henrique Santos in an interview.
But in the end, Miguel underwent radical chemotherapy, which had unexpectedly good progress and results. Indeed, the fact that the man is currently celebrating his 100th birthday is proof of that. In addition, Miguel enjoys very good health for his age, which his medical team attributes mainly to the fact that he lives a healthy and active life (and, of course, takes the necessary medication daily). He even lives alone and still manages to take care of himself with a little help from his family.
Miguel - a symbol of hope
"This story shows that it is possible to live with HIV without difficulty if you control all the other factors related to a healthy lifestyle," says another of Miguel's doctors, Inês Pintassilgo. "Of course, HIV will affect a person's health to some extent, but if the treatment is well managed and the course is controlled, it is not really a major problem," she added. Miguel's story thus shows that HIV alone is indeed not the fundamental determinant of how well and long a person will live.
"I am convinced that the Lisbon patient is a symbol of hope for all people living with HIV. It shows that even with this virus it is possible to live a long and healthy life and experience classic ageing," summarised HIV expert Giovanni Guaraldi from the University of Modena, who also had the honour of meeting Miguel in person. "I was impressed by him, I have never met anyone HIV positive of this age before!" he also said.
Does Miguel have a secret recipe for longevity? Absolutely, but it is in no way related to any physical activities, dietary supplements or any alternative practices. "The reason I've lived to such a long age is that every day before I go to bed, I make myself a cup of lemon tea. I put a slice of good quality lemon in it with the zest. I boil it all for five minutes and add a teaspoon of honey at the end," he reveals...
The treatment has made significant progress
At the same time, in the context of Miguel's story, it is important to remember what the prospects were for those diagnosed with HIV not so long ago. "On Saturday night you went out, Sunday morning you felt you had overdone it a bit, on Monday chills set in, on Wednesday breathing difficulties. By Friday, you were in the hospital, and by the next weekend you could have been dead," says Tim McCaskell, co-founder of the AIDS group ACTIONNOW! During the early AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, the median survival rate for those diagnosed was within a year. The disease was practically a death sentence then - it ravaged the immune system to the point where the body had no chance to defend itself. HIV/AIDS then cost the lives of countless people - young, old, but especially men who had sex with men.
Today, thanks to advanced treatments and huge advances in science, newly diagnosed patients have a further 50 years of life ahead of them, comparable in quality to the healthy population. The biggest breakthrough was the introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy in the mid-1990s, which began to keep the virus at bay and made it undetectable in patients' bodies. The drugs have also become less toxic and more effective, so that in most cases it is sufficient (even today) to take one or two pills a day. However, the threat of HIV/AIDS remains. Although it has lost the label of 'deadly', it is still a disease that is virtually incurable.
