Darlene

“Sometimes it just gets too weighed down and so I go to church and pray and give it all to God. . . I don’t let the negative come in anymore.”

Transcript for Darlene: Lord, Protect Me video

The Story

Darlene was diagnosed with HIV in 1992 and has been living with the disease for more than 15 years. Like most who hear the news for the first time, she was stunned to learn that she had tested positive. At that time, she says, as a 40-something middle-class White woman with no history of drug abuse, she never thought she fit the profile of someone at risk.

Now 56 years old and a great-grandmother, however, Darlene has come to represent a growing number of women—and people over age 50 in general—who are heading into their senior years as HIV survivors. Many of the issues that Darlene has faced will sound familiar to other people living with HIV/AIDS. Such as disclosure of HIV status and partner notification. She speaks eloquently about stigma, too, both within her own family and among her friends. And she discusses the continual challenge—familiar to many women—of caring for herself while looking after a young child.

One of the most moving subjects in Darlene’s story is one that is not often discussed in the health care community but that overwhelmingly rings true for people who suffer from a life-threatening illness—namely, the healing power of compassion and the strength that can come from faith and an active spiritual life.