And The Band Played On

In New York City, the hospitals overflow with AIDS patients and there are not enough spaces. The situation becomes overwhelming as “a sufferer had already died while waiting for a room at one of Manhattan's most prestigious university hospitals” (507).For children infected with AIDS, it is worse, as they are left to die at the hospitals, abandoned by their parents or because they become orphans.

In San Francisco, a prostitute and drug addict named Silvana Strangis becomes famous when police officers force her to take an AIDS test. Because the AIDS clinic declares that no patient can be brought against will, Silvana goes later to check for herself. When her results come back as positive, she becomes a media sensation and is called a “human time bomb” (510). Soon after, other cases emerge of infected heterosexual individuals.

On January 10, Cathy Borchelt sees a piece about her mother in the local newspaper about being an AIDS blood transfusion case. Even though she tries to hide the paper from Frances, her mother, Frances witnesses it on the television news and says, “That poor lady […] If it were me, I’d sue” (513). Cathy realizes her mother does not know that she has AIDS.