Magic Johnson: 20 Years After HIV Diagnosis

     It was twenty years and one day ago when Magic Johnson shocked the world with his retirement from basketball. Even more shocking than his retirement was the reason behind it-Magic was and is HIV positive. In the twenty years since his public announcement, Magic has used his celebrity and fame to raise awareness of and funds for HIV and AIDS research. Throughout the twenty years after announcing to the world his shocking medical diagnosis, Magic Johnson has forever altered attitudes about the virus and its effects.

     Each year, more than 40,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with HIV and more than 16,500 people in the U.S. die from AIDS annually. Those numbers, however, are nothing compared to the 2.6 million people worldwide diagnosed with HIV and the 1.8 million people who die from AIDS annually.
     Today, Magic is a 52-year old specimen of health according to his doctor, and is comfortably managing his HIV with a daily regimen of drugs and exercise. He was once required to take upwards of 15 pills several times a day, but now that number is significantly smaller.
     Magic commemorated the twentieth anniversary of his announcement at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Monday with several politicians, celebrities, and AIDS researchers. The celebration included a luncheon and an astounding one million dollar gift to the Magic Johnson Foundation which will be used to continue its mission for worldwide HIV awareness and testing.

     Magic feels he is in a way both helpful and hurtful to the HIV/AIDS cause. He often reflects on this point, saying he is “good because [he's] doing well, and [he] can go out and try and raise the awareness level, get people to go get tested ... but on the flip side of that, people see that [he's] doing well, so they've kind of relaxed on HIV and AIDS. People think that now if they get the virus, they'll do well, but a couple million will die this year." Magic is using this milestone as a call to renew dedication to the cause. Magic as well as HIV/AIDS researchers want to continually remind the public that while a diagnosis of HIV is no longer the “death sentence” it once was, we still do not have a cure. For this reason, it is important for the public to continue to get tested and is why Magic will continue to raise awareness and continue doing all he can for research.

     Magic is very happy with his life and the decisions he has made since being diagnosed twenty years ago. The only thing that could make Magic happier in his situation is if “the numbers in the black and brown communities would go down,” reminding us that in the U.S. a majority of the 60,000 new cases annually come from the minority communities. Magic believes “we must change the mindset, and we must do a better job educating those who live in urban America about this disease."
     Magic Johnson ends this remarkable event by reminding us “the best doctors and medicine in the world can't save you if you don't do what you're supposed to do," advice to remember in every medical situation.