A Most Wonderful,Tragic Experience: The Phenomenon of Mothering in Caregiving an Adult Son with AIDS

Abstract

The purpose of this Heideggerian hermeneutic study was to gain an understanding of the phenomenon of mothering experienced by women who served as primary caregivers for their adult sons who died of AIDS. Fifteen mothers provided in-depth interviews. Data were categorized into the constituents of human being: lived relationship, lived time, lived body, and lived space. The mothers revealed close and (re)connected relationships with their sons, intertwined with issues of homosexuality, stigma, economics, physical care, and death. The essence of the mothering for these women was the biological relationship, the life-threatening illness, their commitment to care for their sons, the overriding engagement of the mothers and sons, and the reconnections to care given their sons as infants and children. A call of conscience, in the Heideggerian sense, compelled the mothers to care for their dying sons.

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