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Welcome to The Waiting Room
We'll journey together with some young people as they navigate the clinic experience. Keep scrolling to check out who's here!
Meet Luka Lovelace
Luka (she/they) is 17, and she's recently started dating someone new. She's here to get tested for HIV for the very first time. The condom they were using with their partner broke, so they just want to make sure everything is ok.
Meet Joy Jinx
Joy Jinx (he/they) is proudly living with HIV. They are here today for their regular check up with their doctor. Whenever they're in The Waiting Room, they always try to find a song they've never heard before while they wait.
Meet Fer Flowers
Fer (he/him) came to keep Joy company today as he waits for his appointment. Fer knows Joy from the gym - he hopes to win a bodybuilding competition someday, so he's always there. He's never been to the clinic before, but he's really curious to see what's up.
Meet Luka Lovelace
Luka (she/they) is 17, and she's recently started dating someone new. She's here to get tested for HIV for the very first time. The condom they were using with their partner broke, so they just want to make sure everything is ok.
Meet Joy Jinx
Joy Jinx (he/they) is proudly living with HIV. He is here today for their regular check up with their doctor. Whenever they're in The Waiting Room, they always try to find a song they've never heard before while they wait.
Meet Fer Flowers
Fer (he/him) came to keep Joy company today as he waits for his appointment. Fer knows Joy from the gym - he hopes to win a bodybuilding competition someday, so he's always there. He's never been to the clinic before, but he's really curious to see what's up.
Tester: Come on in, Luka!
Tester: Welcome to the testing room! My name is Jon, and I'll be testing you today. It's a simple fingerprick, and we should have your results in about a minute. Do you have any questions before we get started?
Luka: No questions! I'm just feeling a bit nervous. Ready to get this done.
Tester: Alright, I'll just need your finger! *Pricks finger*
Tester: The test we're using today is a rapid test. It looks for HIV antibodies in your blood. Antibodies are what your body uses to fight viruses.This test can detect HIV infection when used three weeks after a potential HIV exposure.
Luka: Is it effective?
Tester: Yes! About 99% effective. And it's a test you can get at a lot of locations around town. Here's a great site to look up other testing locations: hiv.gov/locator
Tester: Alright, your results are ready. The test came back negative, meaning we did not detect any antibodies in this test. How are you feeling?
Luka: Relieved! This is my first time. I was so nervous.
Tester: It totally makes sense to be nervous! HIV can be scary.
But just remember: getting tested regularly is one of the best ways to know your status, and people with HIV can get treatment that ensures they'll live the life they would have lived without HIV.
But for today, let's celebrate you coming in and taking control of your health!
Luka: Thank you, Jon. I really appreciate it.
Tap on the circles above to read the rest of the conversation!
Tester: Come on in, Joy!
Luka: You’ve got this, Joy! We’re proud of you for taking charge of your health.
Fer: I’ll be right here waiting for you!
Doctor: Good afternoon, Joy! How are you feeling today?
Joy: I'm feeling good, doc! Doing my best to keep healthy and hydrated.
Doctor: Well you're doing a great job keeping healthy. You're still taking your medicine everyday as discussed?
Joy: Yes, every day!
Doctor: I'm glad to hear it. Your viral load is low, and you're in the undetectable range. As we've discussed, keeping the load undetectable while taking your medicine as prescribed means you can't transmit HIV.
Joy: I remember "U=U"! Undetectable equals untransmittable!
Doctor: Did you want to get tested for any other sexually transmitted infections today while you're here? I can have one of the nurses get a full panel test ready for you.
Joy: A full panel test?
Doctor: Basically, we test you in a couple different ways to ensure we test for all STIs. We'll do a blood draw, which tests for syphilis, HIV, and Hepatitis C.
We'll also do some swabs of the places where you're having sex, for example your anus, vagina, or throat, and we could do urinalysis, where we sample your urine. These tests are good for identifying HPV, chlamydia and gonorrhea infection.
You interested in that?
Joy: Do I have to? Sounds like a lot.
Doctor: You definitely don't have to, but I do recommend it. People having sex should get tested every three or six months just to ensure they know if they have an STI. This is especially important depending on how often you change partners, or if a partner discloses to you that they might have an STI. The most common symptom is no symptom!
And if you're worried about testing positive for some of the STIs, it helps to know that the viral infections - Hepatitis and Herpes - can be managed just like we're managing your HIV status. Gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis can all be cured.
Doctor: One thing I want you to know - when we choose to do swab tests, you'll have to tell me more about what type of sex you're having.
For example, if you're only having oral sex, we'd only swab your throat, but if you're having anal or vaginal sex, we'd swab there. The swab can be a bit uncomfortable, and you'll have to tell me a bit more about what genitals you have.
Does that sound ok?
Joy: I appreciate the heads up, doc. Let's do it, and I'll let you know if I'm uncomfortable.
Tap on the circles above to read the rest of the conversation!
While Fer waits for Joy to finish their appointment, he checks out some of the literature in the lobby about testing.
Let's check out what he's reading! Click on each of the buttons to learn more about each topic.
Most of these resources are best viewed on a computer or tablet.
If you'd like to save any of the files for later use, you can download them as PDF files on the Resources page!
Thank you for following Luka, Joy, and Fer through their clinic experiences!
Just like them, you can take control of your health and get the resources you need. Here's some of our favorites we recommend:
Q Cards
The Q Card is designed to help you advocate for your healthcare needs. Before your appointment, you can fill out your name, pronouns, identity information that could be important for your provider to know, and what you are seeing the doctor for.
You can even remove part of the card to leave with your doctor, so they can have it handy for future appointments!
Finding HIV and STI testing services and prevention resources doesn’t have to be intimidating. This page has 3 different search options: HIV/STI testing, condoms, and PrEP. Just enter your ZIP code or city. A list of places–including hours, services, and contact information will show up.
When looking for HIV/STI testing, you can even sort by cost, type of test, and self-testing providers to find the resource that will work best for you.
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