LeeAnn worked as a prostitute in Bridgeport, CT from age eighteen to thirty-two. After summoning the courage to move on from prositution, she studied to become a nurse's aide. Soon, she was diagnosed with HIV. P.H. spoke with LeeAnn about her history as a sex worker and her life after contracting HIV/AIDS.

P.H.: When you were eighteen, what made you leave home?

LeeAnn: When I ran away from home, I moved into a house where the guys were looking for prostitutes in Waterbury, and then moved to Bridgeport. For several years after I left home I didn't have any contact with my family. I left because of them, the abuse. They didn?t even know that I was leaving. They went to work one day and when they came home, I was gone. I knew that I had to get out. At 18, I had no high school life, every time I did something wrong, I was badly beaten.

P.H.: What is the worst memory that you have from your father's abuse?

LeeAnn: You know, it was physical and verbal abuse? beatings in front of people. We used to go camping and if I did something wrong, he didn?t think twice to, you know. Just always belittling me.

P.H.: After leaving home, was prostitution your first source of income? Did you try any jobs before you became involved in prostitution?

LeeAnn: I got involved with prostitution because the money was real good. I didn't try anything else. But I wasn't diagnosed while I was a prostitute. I had already started nurse's aide training, and I found out that I was HIV positive after I had stopped working as a prostitute.

P.H.: Do you ever blame your father for your involvement in prostitution to support yourself?

LeeAnn: I don't blame him. I've been on my own since I was 18 years old and I am now 48. I've been on my own for 30 years and I've had to learn to sink or swim. And I swim.

P.H.: What inspired you to make the switch from prostitution to becoming a nurse's aide?

LeeAnn: I was just tired of the lifestyle. Just tired of it. I took out a student loan and took classes. I started working as a nurse's aide, but it didn't last long. I had a car accident. Someone rear-ended me and snapped everything in my wrist -- I got on city welfare, which is very little money.

P.H.: After the accident, how did you support yourself?

LeeAnn: I picked up work with a mentally handicapped child in Milford. He was very hard to handle -- I was taking care of him when I was diagnosed. I panicked when I found out because I didn't know much about HIV or anything. I panicked and told his mother. Well, that turned out to be the worst idea of my life. Shortly after that, I got a phone call one day. The girlfriend of his younger sister at home said she saw me kissing and fondling him all over... This whole thing proceeded to get me arrested for sexual assault to the fourth degree. I hired the attorney from hell... The person at the home health care agency got me a new attorney and told me not to worry about the fee. Now mind you, I was just diagnosed with HIV and a few months later I had to turn myself in for an arrest warrant. Usually a judge doesn't overturn a decision, but this second attorney got the judge to overturn his decision, but they still put me on probation for two years. That put me under a lot of stress.