“In the doctor’s mind, I was a heterosexual woman, married with children. I didn’t fit the profile.” – Dianne, diagnosed with HIV in 2010 Committed to her community services work and maintaining family life, Dianne’s diagnosis came late in her journey. She had been chronically ill for approximately eight months and, after having a grand […]
“I’m positive about being positive!” – Colin, diagnosed with HIV in 2004 After a lifetime of regular blood donation, Colin realised he hadn’t donated for a while and wanted to start again. He was living in Wollongong and studying nursing at the time. Prior to attending the Red Cross Blood Bank, he had recently been […]
“For me, talking about it [HIV] is therapy.” – Sanaa, diagnosed with HIV in 2012 When she arrived in Australia from Zimbabwe in 2012, Sanaa begun forming hard, ball-shaped lumps in her underarms. Initially, she thought it was due to the deodorant she was using, but they turned out to be abscesses and quickly became […]
Susie is one of Pozhet’s long term clients. Her life and perspective has changed significantly since she first visited our service many years ago. She has shared her story with us below. My name is Susie. I contracted HIV 17 years ago, diagnosed 9 years ago. I was a single mother, 30 years of age […]
In late 2012 I suddenly became ill with a fever and body rash. In the December a blood test confirmed I had HIV. This was a shock to me as being heterosexual and not engaging in the more “risky” activities HIV was the last diagnosis I had expected. I was stunned as to where I […]
