He thought it was just a rash. He nearly died of AIDS.

At first, Cody Pharis didn't think much of the rash on his legs.

Same goes for his swollen lymph nodes a year prior. Both ended up going away and seemed like minor issues. Maybe he had contact dermatitis, he thought. Or a vitamin deficiency. Either way, he was fine, right?

Pharis continued to get minor rashes, off and on, for the next four years. Then, his health took a sharp turn. His tongue went white with thrush. His hair began falling out. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't gain weight. At first, he thought maybe these were just the aches and pains of getting older. Or the toll of his demanding warehouse job. Eventually, he went to a doctor and learned the truth.

Pharis had HIV. Not only that, because the infection had been left unchecked for so long, it had progressed to AIDS. He felt like he was dying, because he was.

Had Pharis' symptoms gone untreated another year, he believes he wouldn't be here. But, thanks to medication, he is − and he's using his new lease on life to raise awareness about HIV and encourage others to get tested and share their status with potential sexual partners. It's information he wishes he had been afforded.

"It felt like I was in the twilight zone," Pharis, now 33, says of his HIV diagnosis. "I remember I just immediately just started grabbing at my face. I just couldn't believe this was my reality."

He never had an STD. Then came an AIDS diagnosis.

Pharis never had a sexually transmitted disease before contracting HIV. Not one for casual hookups, he says he's gravitated toward monogamy and follows safe sex practices.

Pharis believes he contracted HIV from a previous boyfriend, alleging this boyfriend withheld the truth about his HIV status during their relationship. Worse, Pharis believes this boyfriend continued to withhold the truth, even as he watched Pharis come down with severe symptoms.

"Every time I had something going on with me, he just deterred me and was like, 'Oh, it's fine. You're fine. Here, I'll make you some tea. I'll make you some dinner,' " Pharis says.

He vividly remembers what it was like living in the AIDS stage of his infection. The disease killed thousands of Americans, many of them gay men, throughout the '80s and early '90s.

For Pharis, the disease nearly took everything from him. He was let go from work when the toll of his illness kept him from keeping up with grueling overtime demands.

"I was so skinny. I could not gain any weight. I worked 12-hour shifts driving a forklift and I was paying all the bills and I had to work to keep everything together," Pharis says. "It felt like just a million needles stabbing you and your bones are super-glued together, and you're moving really, really slow, and it's just the most hopeless and dark and horrible feeling you could ever feel. I thought it was because of just working and getting older. But no, it was because there was actually a virus attacking my immune system."

His AIDS went undiagnosed for too long. Now, he's speaking out

Failing to disclose that you are HIV positive to someone before having sex with them is a crime in some states.

One reason Pharis has been so vocal online is to fight back against the shame and denial that drive so many to withhold their HIV status from others. Another, he says, is to offer hope. Though HIV is a lifelong infection, it's possible through medication to reach an "undetectable" viral load, meaning you cannot sexually transmit the virus to others. Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, medications can also greatly reduce one's risk of contracting HIV in the first place.

On social media, many have rallied around Pharis in support. Philip Lewis, a relationship therapist specializing in gay men's mental health, says finding a community can be one of the most beneficial things when faced with a diagnosis of HIV or any chronic health condition.

"To the extent that you can, at least talk to one other person who's supportive," Lewis says. "Someone who's willing to sit down and listen to you and just let you say whatever your experience is. There's kind of a grief to this, right? Your life is changing in some way."

Now that he's healthy and his HIV is undetectable, Pharis is working to rebuild his life, step by step.

"The thing that gives me hope is helping other people and feeling like I have some sort of purpose or I can make an impact in some way," he says. "I do think things are going to get better. But it's up to me to make it better."