And what does your job involve?

I mean, I've always been into politics, really, ever since I was a teenager, you know? So I mean, you didn't grow up in a house with my dad without having to argue your case.

Um, he was a very argumentative man, um, and he had views on everything.

And so I grew up, you know, being expected to articulate my opinion on stuff.

I mean, he never agreed with it, but I think that was part and parcel.

Um, so I was always involved in politics one way or another.

Um, I studied politics at university.

Yeah.

She

took care of him.

And so I was deep in the thick bushes of parenting, relationships, caregiving.

And I basically had a spiritual awakening and I didn't really know what was going on because they kept waking up at 3.33 a.m. And I would get like a sense of anxiety, which I now understand is like an emotionally intelligent human state.

that anxiety and excitement feel the same in your body.

So I believe I was, the energy was just like exciting me, but I was getting fearful and I was like, Oh my God.

So I was kind of like looking it up and I found out that 33 was like a spiritual number.

And

How do you, as a young Republican, somebody that's out there to excite the base, tell people in the state of Illinois that someday, somehow, some way, there may be a change in the way this state operates?

That is so funny you say that, because we, in our group, we definitely think that in the next four to eight years that we could be red.

We believe it, and we want it to happen.

I am from Texas, so I do come from a red state, so my perspective is a little bit different.

But moving here...

I found this like, I mean, especially after Charlie, of course, um, I found this unique, like underground, like group of Republicans here that really wanted to, you know, move the needle after Charlie.

And I think that it's been really cool to see that happen here.

How do you have that conversation take place where you try to talk sense and sensibility to people without getting in an argument while you're at the local wine tasting?

What is the biggest challenge, the trickiest part of that?

I mean, the trickiest part is that actually that cancer is a wily beast, and it doesn't behave like...

Y-you can't just give everybody the same treatment.

It doesn't do the same for everybody.

Your cancer is as individual as you are.

Um, you know, it's got its own biology, and you've got your own biology, so not all treatments work for all people.

But essentially what it's about is making sure that we get early diagnosis wherever possible because it's far more treatable and curable the earlier that we get it.

Mm

What is the biggest challenge, the trickiest part of that?

I mean, the trickiest part is that actually that cancer is a wily beast, and it doesn't behave like ...

Y- you can't just give everybody the same treatment and expect it to ...

It doesn't do the same for everybody.

Your cancer is as individual as you are.

Um, you know, it's got its own, uh, um, biology, and you've got your own biology, so not all treatments work for all people.

But essentially what it's about is making sure that we get early diagnosis wherever possible because it's far more treatable and curable, um, the earlier that we get it.

Mm

What's the action plan

then? So what's different from today? OK, I mean, one of the biggest things that we've put in place, which we've never had before, we've got the very first plan for retention and re-engagement.

So there are a number of people that may get their diagnosis and find their HIV positive, but for one reason or another, they fall out of care.

And for, you know, I've spoken to women who say it's the stigma, it's the difficulty of being able to access the services, the stigma in their communities.

So really focusing on re-engaging people that have been previously lost to care, including women, is going to be a really core tenet of this campaign.

action plan because what we need to do and what our ambition is is to stop new transmissions by 2030 and to do that we really need to make sure that we're reaching all the parts of the community to make sure that people can access the treatment and the services because treatment we've come such a long way So treatment now means that if you're HIV positive, you can live a relatively normal life with a normal lifespan and a very healthy one.

And you can also take medication that means that you can't pass on the virus to others.

How are you coping?