By some great cosmic kindness, both T and her brother B are still alive and on ARVs now. They will live to fight or die again another day. I believe we have maybe reached a turning point in this battle. I went in with T to see the ARV doctor and was amazed that he recommended that her boyfriend, if she has one (which she does not currently) and her 5 year old son come in for testing. A year ago, even 6 months ago, that kind of recommendation, in a hospital where doctors do not even talk to patients directly, was unheard of. The boy is relatively well, but has been coughing lately. It will be important to know so that we can take extra care to keep him healthy as long as possible before starting treatment if he is HIV+. Because ARVs are not going to be available for all who will need them, and because compliance is difficult when people are too sick or live to far to come in or when the clinic runs out of one of the tablets, it is better to keep from having to start ARV therapy until it is absolutely necessary. The thinking in the "Western World" now is that the sooner one starts, the healthier they remain. That thinking is a luxury here and, unless we want to support the emergence of a myriad of drug-resistent strains, it is best to try to keep someone healthy as long as possible. With poor diets, dirty river water for drinking and bathing, and generally unhealthy living conditions, that will not be too long anyway.
Get involved 4/7/06
I urge all of you to organize an AIDS candlelight memorial in your community. This is a wonderful opportunity to educate people about the millions of lives that are being lost to this disease, especially on the African continent where we don't seem to be making enough headway. As you stand, with candles lit, you will be standing with those of us here and around the world who are actively fighting the battle. You can also use the event as a potential fundraiser, especially those of you on college campuses or in large institutions, but please make sure that whatever funds you raise are accounted for and go directly toward HIV relief. The website, www.candlelightmemorial.org, has a lot of information about how to organize such an event. You can make it big, or you can keep it simple, but stand with us on the 21st of May to remember those who have died, those who live with HIV, and those who still have a choice. If you are able to organize the event, please send me a picture of the event and I will share it on my blog as well as with those who stood in Hlatikhulu and elsewhere in Swaziland.
Baby m 4/11/06
Baby M died this weekend. He had been doing so much better and apparently became sick and died very suddenly. For a year or so now we had been treating him for an allergy to peanuts and to the local detergent (the latter is very aggressive and other young children have a reaction to it). As soon as we took him off peanuts and got the bacterial infection on the sores taken care of, he rallied significantly. When his father was able to get work, he left the child with his sister, some distance away, because the other children were schooling and couldn't watch him. This man has struggled so hard to care for these 4 children since the death of his wife after childbirth. In Swaziland
Children are left parentless and homeless daily now. Last week, in my community alone, a gogo died, leaving 3 orphans, the children of her children, to be farmed out to whatever orphanages can take them. The security guard at the primary school also died, his wife having preceded him by a year. Three more orphans. This country will regret all the money it has spent on HIV workshops and training in high end hotels, training care givers who are not giving care and peer educators who are educating no one, wasting millions on structures and projects that sit half finished and poorly managed, when the time comes to have to house the thousands of orphans who are left stranded when the old grandmothers die.
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