Kim Canady was only nine years old in 1996 when she faced the unimaginable loss of losing both her parents in the same year. At the time, she didn’t know her parents suffered HIV-related complications, nor did she realize she’d been living with HIV since birth. But what she did know is she was the only one among her group of friends that had regular monthly checkups with a doctor.

Within months of losing her parents, she learned she was a “dandelion” – the term for people who are either born with HIV or who acquire it early in life. HIV was especially misunderstood and stigmatized during that period. Plus, it was difficult to comprehend what it meant to be a child living with HIV.

“I was taking HIV medications as a child and had different medical conditions and didn’t understand why because nobody wanted to talk about it,” says Kim.

Over the years, Kim has turned her lived experience into helping others as a public health consultant, a sexuality educator and an advocate for those living with HIV. But she stresses that she now also focuses on raising her son and building her business.

“As a dandelion, we’re the true definition of what aging with HIV is, but I don’t let the virus any longer define me,” she says. “My advocacy work is what I do when I have extra time to give. My day-to-day is being a mom, a wife, and a woman who’s choosing herself.”

Watch the video to learn more about Kim’s journey living as a dandelion.