“Yes, you have HIV”: There are four words that turn Michael Hofbauer’s life upside down overnight. He’s on his lunch break when his cell phone rings. His doctor is on the other end of the line. “I might already hear it in his voice,” the Upper Austrian recalls. This was preceded by weeks of uncertainty.
When his partner at the time tested positive for the HI virus, Michael was just 19. After the shocking news, he was tested in the hospital every two days. The first results are negative. He gives the last blood sample on a Friday. “I had to wait until Monday for the result. But the weekend did a lot to help me accept that things will come as they come. The sentence ‘Yes, you have HIV’ was a kind of liberation for me.”
HIV: No longer a fatal disease
HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus, which is mainly transmitted from person to person through unprotected sex. “It attacks the so-called CD-4 cells in the human immune system, destroys them and spreads,” explains Manfred Rupp from AIDS-Hilfe Steiermark.
HIV can now be treated with medication so well that AIDS does not break out. “HIV has gone from a deadly disease to a chronic infection. The therapy suppresses the virus to such an extent that HIV can no longer be transmitted, even during unprotected sex,” says Rupp. Despite medical advances, the infection must be taken very seriously and dealt with responsibly.
Shortly following his HIV diagnosis, Michael Hofbauer begins treatment. Sinking in self-pity is out of the question for the then 19-year-old: “It happened, I have to live with it and you can’t change that at the moment.”
“My grandma found out through the Barbara Karlich show”
Michael gets most of his support from his family, only his grandmother reacts sensitively. “She only recently found out that I’m HIV-positive and homosexual from the Barbara Karlich show.” In an interview, the young man, who works as a robotics applicator and freelance media designer, tries to allay his grandmother’s concerns regarding his health. “You can tell that the older the generation, the more difficult it is to accept the topic. Also because they grew up with this horror in reporting back then.”
She now seems to have digested the information that her grandson is HIV-positive. The fact that he is homosexual, on the other hand, less so. “She asked me at the time: ‘Does it have to be a man?!’ Then I was perplexed for a moment and said: ‘Grandma, it’s not a woman. I’m happy with a man. Accept that or not.’
Michael tries to give his grandmother the necessary space to digest everything. And yet he says, “I cannot offer the same care for the person if they are not caring for me or accepting me for who I am. Being homosexual or being HIV positive changes me from mine person not.”
Book: “Dance with your own self”
Michael Hofbauer has now written a book regarding his experiences with his HIV infection. What is it regarding? Basically regarding his HIV diagnosis – but not only. It is also very important to the young author to give his readers tips on how to deal with strokes of fate and learn to process them better.
“I might have lived at a completely different time”
It has now been four years since Michael Hofbauer was diagnosed with HIV. “I’ve gone through quite a development.” Having to keep explaining the infection to family and friends hardened him. “I’ve built incredible resilience and have become much more appreciative of life.” And he’s grateful – grateful to be alive today. “I might have lived at a different time. Then it would have ended at some point.”
Michael does not regret that he went public with his HIV infection in 2020. On the contrary: “It gave me so much courage and showed me that you should stand by yourself. You can only really flourish in life if you accept who you are.”
