Monday, October 30, 2023
JOHAN ISBRAND PHOTO: SØREN JUL LAMBERTH
She had symptoms for years, but it didn’t occur to the doctors to test Kicki for HIV. With the help of medication, she now lives a normal life without the risk of infecting her husband Kevin.
Although Kevin Bernhard Pedersen was unknowingly exposed to the risk of infection for five years, he escaped.
Today, he faithfully supports his HIV-infected wife, Kicki Hyllen Mikkelsen, in the fight to spread knowledge about HIV.
In the period 2017-20, Kicki Hyllen Mikkelsen, now 43 years old, from Undløse in northwest Zealand, had a series of symptoms that were unpleasant, but did not lead to sick leave from her job as a nursing assistant in psychiatry.
Nor did the experts immediately find cause for concern.
– Throughout this period, I had a continuous and severe hair loss.
This was met with the classic assumption that I was probably stressed.
I was also told that there were no good drugs for hair loss.
I did visit a dermatologist at one point, but as he had established that I didn’t have psoriasis, there was no further help from him.
My own doctor didn’t have much to say to me either when I had an outbreak of shingles in 2019,” says Kicki, who is married to Kevin, 41, a warehouse operator at Novo Nordisk.
This was met with the classic assumption that I was probably stressed.
I was also told that there were no good drugs for hair loss.
I did visit a dermatologist at one point, but as he had established that I didn’t have psoriasis, there was no further help from him.
My own doctor didn’t have much to say to me either when I had an outbreak of shingles in 2019,” says Kicki, who is married to Kevin, 41, a warehouse operator at Novo Nordisk.
The couple have known each other for over 20 years and together they have Kenan, Kian and Kassander, aged 20, 17 and 14.
The children all live at home.
The children all live at home.
Kicki also had symptoms that mostly resembled allergic reactions.
– One morning after an almost sleepless night, I woke up with a rash.
Another time, both my upper and lower lip swelled up considerably on the right side.
In both cases, I took antihistamines for the problem.
Even more troublesome was the rash I developed around my eyes in 2018.
The doctor gave me some ointment, which didn’t help.
And the dermatologist couldn’t help me either.
During the corona lockdown in 2020, Kicki discovered that she had apparently developed a fungus on her tongue.
Another time, both my upper and lower lip swelled up considerably on the right side.
In both cases, I took antihistamines for the problem.
Even more troublesome was the rash I developed around my eyes in 2018.
The doctor gave me some ointment, which didn’t help.
And the dermatologist couldn’t help me either.
During the corona lockdown in 2020, Kicki discovered that she had apparently developed a fungus on her tongue.
– The doctor told me to brush my tongue with a toothbrush and rinse with sparkling water.
After two weeks, however, it had not improved.
It turned out that I had a condition called oral hairy leukoplakia.
It was a clear sign of a weakened immune system, so another doctor at the medical center recommended that I get an HIV test,” she recalls.
After two weeks, however, it had not improved.
It turned out that I had a condition called oral hairy leukoplakia.
It was a clear sign of a weakened immune system, so another doctor at the medical center recommended that I get an HIV test,” she recalls.
The immune system at rock bottom
That’s how Kicki found out she was infected with HIV.
And it wasn’t hard for her to figure out how it happened.
And it wasn’t hard for her to figure out how it happened.
– At the end of 2014, Kevin and I separated.
The following summer we got back together.
But in the meantime, I had been in a relationship with another man.
He was the one I got the infection from.
This happened in March 2015.
In other words, I had had HIV for exactly five years when it was discovered,” she says.
The following summer we got back together.
But in the meantime, I had been in a relationship with another man.
He was the one I got the infection from.
This happened in March 2015.
In other words, I had had HIV for exactly five years when it was discovered,” she says.
Two days after the test, she checked into the Department of Infectious Diseases at Roskilde Hospital, where she was examined in detail.
– I felt basically healthy, but my main concern was that my body had been damaged during the years I had been carrying the virus.
When the doctor on the ward checked me for PCP pneumonia and listened to my breathing, he didn’t think I sounded sick either.
When the doctor on the ward checked me for PCP pneumonia and listened to my breathing, he didn’t think I sounded sick either.
When it comes to HIV, however, two factors are particularly important.
– One is the virus count, which should be as low as possible.
The other is the so-called CD4 cells.
Many CD4 cells equals a good immune system.
The CD4 count should therefore be at least 200, and below 150 is alarming because it makes you susceptible to dangerous infections.
Mine turned out to be as low as 70.
The other is the so-called CD4 cells.
Many CD4 cells equals a good immune system.
The CD4 count should therefore be at least 200, and below 150 is alarming because it makes you susceptible to dangerous infections.
Mine turned out to be as low as 70.
HIV is treated with antiretroviral drugs.
It suppresses the virus and when the viral load reaches the point where it is unmeasurable, you are not infected.
In short, you can live a normal life and even have unprotected sex without exposing others to infection.
It suppresses the virus and when the viral load reaches the point where it is unmeasurable, you are not infected.
In short, you can live a normal life and even have unprotected sex without exposing others to infection.
Insufficient knowledge
When Kicki was diagnosed during the pandemic, the whole family initially took sick leave as a precaution.
And the children didn’t have any friends over for the first few days.
– Thanks to the medication, two months later my CD4 count reached the required 200 and I started going back to work.
Since then, everything has been normal.
I don’t have any side effects from the medication, but as an HIV-infected person I have an increased risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, for example, which is why I am committed to taking care of my health.
Only one of the many pills I take every day is antiviral.
The rest are supplements.
In general, I eat healthy and make sure I get exercise through walking and strength training.
Kevin and I also often go for walks together.
Since I was diagnosed, it has been a way for us to be in our new situation.
Since then, everything has been normal.
I don’t have any side effects from the medication, but as an HIV-infected person I have an increased risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, for example, which is why I am committed to taking care of my health.
Only one of the many pills I take every day is antiviral.
The rest are supplements.
In general, I eat healthy and make sure I get exercise through walking and strength training.
Kevin and I also often go for walks together.
Since I was diagnosed, it has been a way for us to be in our new situation.
Kicki has no doubt why it took the doctors a long time to figure out what was wrong with her.
As a heterosexual woman and part of a nuclear family, she was simply not the classic picture of an infected person.
Today, she is a project consultant for the patient organization HIV-Danmark, which she previously chaired.
And she wants to do her part to ensure that new cases of HIV are detected much earlier than today.
As a heterosexual woman and part of a nuclear family, she was simply not the classic picture of an infected person.
Today, she is a project consultant for the patient organization HIV-Danmark, which she previously chaired.
And she wants to do her part to ensure that new cases of HIV are detected much earlier than today.
– When it comes to gay men, they are much quicker to offer HIV testing.
Leukoplakia is an indicator of HIV.
Shingles, fungus and rashes are also symptoms that can point in that direction.
But it’s not just doctors who need to think along these lines.
People generally don’t know enough about HIV today and many young people simply don’t believe that the disease exists anymore.
But I would actually encourage everyone to refresh their memory, and if you’ve had unprotected sex, I would recommend that you get an HIV test.
Young people today are most afraid of chlamydia, but if there is a risk that you have chlamydia, you could theoretically just as well have HIV.
Leukoplakia is an indicator of HIV.
Shingles, fungus and rashes are also symptoms that can point in that direction.
But it’s not just doctors who need to think along these lines.
People generally don’t know enough about HIV today and many young people simply don’t believe that the disease exists anymore.
But I would actually encourage everyone to refresh their memory, and if you’ve had unprotected sex, I would recommend that you get an HIV test.
Young people today are most afraid of chlamydia, but if there is a risk that you have chlamydia, you could theoretically just as well have HIV.
Kicki is also one of the 12 very different people living with HIV who have had their portraits painted for artist Mathilde Fenger’s new series of paintings,
“Positive Portraits”, which will be touring the country in the coming months and can be seen in libraries and hospitals.
– I want to help remind people that people of all types and ages can be infected,” she says.
Kicki Hyllen Mikkelsen and her husband Kevin’s daily walks together are healthy
for both body and soul, and they take them both for fun and exercise.
Photo: Søren Jul Lamberth
The article is published in Familie Journal October 30, 2023
