ABSTRACT
To write a case study of one person living with HIV or AIDS poses a serious challenge. Aside from the medical fact of being seropositive, these individuals are no more alike than any other group. They are members of every social community, ethnic background, and sexual orientation. Some become ill quickly and repeatedly, and face tremendous physical challenges; some experience very little physical change for many years. Some individuals are blessed with an accepting and supportive social network and some face the disease virtually alone. In short, the experience of each individual is unique. A typical experience or representative life story simply does not exist. For this reason, we have chosen to present here a composite picture, painted in broad strokes, of the experience of living with HIV and AIDS. We move through the "phases" from the time of the first diagnosis to the moments of reflection. We present the experiences of persons who shared their stories with us during extensive telephone interviews in the spring and summer of 1994. These 41 people, from around the United States and Canada, asked to be heard and we use this chapter to give them a voice.
