Gena Tew Gives Update Amid AIDS Journey—'I've Been Going Through a Lot'

TikTok influencer Gena Tew has shared a serious update with her followers as she continues to share her journey of living with AIDS.

Tew has shared both negative and positive news with her fans in recent months, but learned in mid-August that she will not be able to see out of her left eye ever again. On Monday, the model and influencer opened up to her fans in an emotional video to share more details about her illness, and the emotional impact it's had on her.

Tew has over 925,000 followers on her TikTok account who tune in to see her honest account of living with AIDS, as well as her entertaining video content. The influencer turned her hand to music in April 2023 with the release of her first studio single "What its like."

"Hey you guys, some of you know I've been going through a lot lately. Ever since I found out that I am going to be permanently blind in my left eye due to the CMV disease that I had, I thought there could at least be some hope in it because I could see shadows and like maybe flashes of lights out of it, but all in all, it is still blind," Tew told her followers on TikTok.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus that is usually harmless, but can be extremely harmful for babies or for people with weakened immune systems.

Tew explained how her other eye is still healing from her recent laser eye surgery and is still very sore.

"I've been doing my best with it but it does affect my quality of life and it's not fun," Tew continued in an emotional message to her followers. "I don't know how to explain it. It's different if you were born with it or you've had this since you were a child, versus being able to see perfectly and losing it at age 26.

"I'm going to try my best not to bring the sad stuff to TikTok. I just share everything with you guys. I don't want to bring my energy vampire-ness and suck your happiness away with my sad stuff, so I'm gonna try my best to be more positive on the app like I always do."

Tew finished the video update with a thanks to those who leave positive comments, telling her fans she loves them.

She received sympathetic messages from her fans who attempted to keep her spirits up despite the update. "I'm sorry... however you're alive and thriving. You see where you came from... don't let this get you down," @geminijourney613 wrote.

"I'm so sorry hun you are going through so much you are strong & still alive & still such a beautiful woman," @rachelsmith9496 said. The majority of the hundreds of messages Tew received continued along the same vein.

Tew's recent videos have included standing up for Jamie Foxx who posted his own video update after recovering from his own illness. Social media users started a rumor that he was a clone because he looked different to before, but Tew reminded everyone of how she looked when she lost weight because of her own experience with illness.