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Interview October – Derek

We continue our Interview October series with a guest I think you’ll enjoy. Let’s meet Derek Canas

Introduce yourself and tell us a bit about you…  

My name is Derek most people call me D-REK I’ll explain that later. I’m 33 years old, and survivor of a Congenital Heart Defect and open heart surgery. At sixteen years of age, I was diagnosed with Aids.

Chronic illness(es)/disabilities I have… 

Congenital Heart Defect called Transposition of the Great Arteries/ HIV/Aids

My symptoms/condition began… 

Symptoms of heart condition diagnosed at 3 months of age. Open heart surgery to correct it happened right after in 1985. I required 15 blood transfusions during surgery and recovery. During surgery, the SA node was damaged requiring a pacemaker to correct. After a 3 month recovery, I made it home but life began to show another hidden monster. I wasn’t growing at a normal rate.

My diagnosis process was… 

Heart was at 3 months HIV/Aids wasn’t discovered until the age of 16.

The hardest part of living with my illness/disabilities is… 

The Stigma surrounding HIV/Aids It makes relationships and friendships very difficult.

A typical day for me involves… 

Spending the day taking care of my two dogs and doing online advocacy from my website

The one thing I cannot live without is… 

Music I’m a DJ that’s were the D-REK name came from. So music has helped me through difficult times and made some great memories working in nightclubs

Being ill/disabled has taught me… 

I’m so much stronger than I ever could have imagined. I’ve been underestimated most of my life but I’ve always fought through whatever has tried to stop me.

What advice would I give someone recently diagnosed… 

Keep your head up things do get better. Don’t let the words in your medical records consume you. You can still chase your dreams and live a very full life.

My support system is…

Family they are great always keeping me laughing and having fun. I’ve been in some very scary situations over the years and we always found a way to find the funny moments.

If I had one day symptom/disability-free I would… 

Probably run wild. Life has tried to slow me down for a reason. I like work and if I could I’d go nonstop

One positive of having a chronic illness/disability is…

You learn the value of your health and how quickly it can fade away. You set boundaries and spend more time with those you truly care about. Little moments become something very valuable

My links are:

https://www.facebook.com/EndTheStigma912
https://twitter.com/DJDREK84
https://www.instagram.com/dreksangelsandwarriors/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS8Ucb4xH9hJMwhngUOFaDg



This post first appeared on There Is Always Hope, please read the originial post: here

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Interview October – Derek

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