Krista Shore has experienced the darker sides of life.
The 30-year-old member of the Peepeekisis First Nation has witnessed life on the street, been part of the hard drugs culture and was even stabbed in the face at one point.
Five years ago, she was diagnosed as being HIV positive, but she says for her life was far from over — in fact, it was a new beginning, as she got clean and sober.
“I encourage people to get tested, when they’re ready, and if they are diagnosed with HIV to encourage them that life ain’t over,” she says. “As for me, myself, my life just started to begin after my diagnosis. I deal with emotions and different things around HIV, yes I do, but I am very full of life and full of passion and drive for a very full life ahead of me.”
Since being diagnosed with the disease, she has also gone on to conceive two healthy children.
Shore was one of the keynote speakers at an HIV conference put on by the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations in Saskatoon this week.