Instagram model Gena Tew, who recently revealed that she was diagnosed with AIDS, has now found some hope in her fight against the disease. Speaking to TMZ, Tew said she underwent a successful procedure on her eyes Thursday in Memphis, Tennessee, and regained some of the vision she lost.
@genatew2 #answer to @mantonioyo how did i get aids.. well #fyp #aids #letstalk #naturalhair ♬ original sound – Gena Tew
The model, who revealed that she was totally blind in her left eye before the surgery, said she can now see shapes and she hopes her vision will continue to improve. Tew added that she dropped to 65 pounds at one point, but is now gaining weight. Although she didn’t feel optimistic at first, Tew said she can recover if she takes her medication and visits her doctors regularly.
As Blavity previously reported, Tew opened up about her diagnosis in July when she published multiple TikTok videos. The model said she unknowingly had the virus and only recently discovered she was a carrier.
While doctors told Tew that she likely had the condition for eight to 10 years, the 27-year-old model believes she contracted the virus when she was around 17 to 19 years old.
“In that time frame, I was living New York City and was homeless,” she said in a TikTok video. “I did get raped a couple of times but it’s not something I like to talk about, I have had a couple free tattoos, so it could have been a dirty needle, I don’t know. Do I know any one of those people? No. Did I say anything when those things happened? No. Because I was naïve and I was stupid and I was young.”
Although there is no cure for AIDS, experts say the disease can be controlled with medication.
“Access to better antiviral treatments has dramatically decreased deaths from AIDS worldwide, even in resource-poor countries,” Mayo Clinic stated on its website. “Thanks to these life-saving treatments, most people with HIV in the U.S. today don’t develop AIDS. Untreated, HIV typically turns into AIDS in about 8 to 10 years.”
