Aged 90!

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We visited a female patient aged 90 years old. She is HIV-positive and she was taking care of her child that was HIV positive and she was not using gloves while she was bathing her. Now she hired a lady who is taking care of her, because she is living alone. On our arrival she was in bad condition and she was complaining about body pains, loss of appetite and swollen feet. She can’t walk.

As care workers, we advised her to visit to the nearest clinic, but she refused. She told us that they would kill her.

In denial

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This is a 55-year old male client in Mahushu. He is TB and HIV-positive, and not drinking his treatment because he believes that his been witched, so he uses traditional herbs. He has been bedridden from July until now, but he is still in denial stage. He don’t want to drink his treatment. We visited them to show the sisters-in-laws how to bathe him, and turn him every two hours, and how to empty the catheter. We gave them pampers, gloves, mask, savlon, linen saver and we bathed him.

Still at school…

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This is a 23-year old female client at Swalala. She is HIV-positive and drinking well her treatment. She is staying with her cousin. She is an orphan, doing grade 11 and doing well at school. They are staying in a three-room house. We gave a food parcel because no one is working – they are schoolchildren.

Work v. childcare

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This is a 37-year old female client at Mthimba and her two children, a three-year old girl and an 8-year old boy. The female is HIV-positive and she is drinking well her treatment, and she had a job far away from home and she left her children with her mother. Her boy is HIV-positive and her mother was not giving the boy his treatment and he defaulted on his treatment, and he was admitted to hospital and now he is getting better. He is not going to school because of his health. The mother quit her job because of her child. They are staying in a one-room shack, and now no one is working. They are living on a social grant. We gave them a food parcel.

…trying to kill himself…

hbc3In the picture is our 37-year male client at Swalala with a HBC nurse checking treatment. he’s not drinking well his treatment because he doesn’t have food to eat. He was trying to kill himself because he believed that his wife was the one that gave him the disease of HIV-positive. He was not adhering to the treatment, but he used traditional herbs and he is smoking. He is not working. We gave him a food parcel and we advised him to stop smoking, not to use the traditional herbs and he must look for job in the neighbourhood. We referred him to the clinic for counselling.

Still working!

This is a picture of our 58-year old female client at Manzini and one of our care workers. She is HIV-positive with her husband. They were diagnosed HIV-positive in 2012 and they are drinking well their treatment. They are living positive lifestyle. The mother, she is doing handwork to sell. She is the one that goes to the clinic to collect treatment.

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Keep taking the tablets!

THIS is a 49-year old female client at Mthimba, with one of our care workers checking she is taking her medication. She was diagnosed HIV-positive in 2010 and she was taking well her treatment, but in 2015 she defaulted the treatment because she saw that is doing ok.

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She started getting weak in June 2016 and we referred her to the clinic, and they referred her to the hospital and she was admitted for 2 months and two weeks. We found her weak and she is not eating well and she vomits. Now she has TB (MDR). She is getting injection every day for 12 months.  ACTION: We managed to give her pampers, gloves, mask, linen saver and rub-rub. We advised her to drink the treatment.

September Home Based Care – A Snapshot

ACTIVITIES

We do home visits to seven areas: Cleaning and bathing if necessary; Feeding the helpless patients; Monitoring patient’s medication; DOT [Directly Observable Treatment] support to patient’s on TB treatment; Door to Door campaigns; TB screening and follow-up; HCT [HIV/AIDS Counselling and Testing] during home visits and at Masoyi Home Based Care.

HOME BASED CARE (HBC)

We did 449 home visits to all the seven Areas of Masoyi community, giving DOT support to those on TB treatment; and TB screening to family members: 40 new TB and HIV clients registered in the program, 5 counselled ,screened and tested for HIV, with only one tested positive and also referred to the clinic for CD4 count test [white blood cells].  192 family members screened for signs and symptoms of TB, with 13 referred to the clinic for clinical assessment.  Three deceased clients, and 8 recovered.