I am a Zambian aged 30, male and happily married.
A couple of years ago I suffered from a disease that I thought I would not suffer from. Funny ha!
Anyway, this is how I fell ill.
Apparently I am a big bodied person and at the time my Dad noticed that I had been losing weight, was not eating as much and every after two weeks of taking cough medications my cough seemed to suppress the medication. He very cleverly took me to the clinic.
I bet you wondering why I have written the above sentence in such manner. Well he said to me that I should escort him to the hospital, which I did, and only when we were in the Doctors consultation did I realize that the patient was not him but me.
He begun to tell the Doctor that I had been losing weight and not eating as much. He also told the Doctor about the persistent cough that I had. The Doc asked me if there were other things bothering me and I then confirmed the sweating at night.
The Doc suggested an X-ray, which showed I was okay, so he prescribed coughing drugs. A week later my cough started again and this time I went to a government clinic where they got my sputum and asked me to go the main hospital for an X-ray. I followed the direction got the X-ray the very day that afternoon and went back to the clinic . just when the Doc saw the X-ray and the results from the Lab he covered his mouth and nose, instructed a nurse to give me an injection and that I commence the TB treatment.
So I was injected with streptomycin that Friday afternoon and asked to report for another injection the following morning. To my little knowledge and surprise that was the beginning of 60 injections and the intake of the many tablets of the TB drugs. 12 if I am not mistaken is the number of pills I was taking. I never benefited from supplementary food, I didn’t quit, I wanted to but didn’t and I persevered until I completed my medication. Every
Everything else I bet is the same with every other TB patient apart from one thing.
This one thing is……. This was the first time I suffered from TB and I was put on Streptomycin injections. I know am well but many are the times I worry that what if (GOD FORBID) a relapse were to occur would I then not be resistant to the first line drugs? Is it right to streptomise a first timer?
Anyway all this happened in Zambia, Kamwala Clinic in 2003-4. In the year 2004 applied to a local Bible school for a two years Diploma program and was accepted. I graduated in 2006; sadly thogh, the man who cleverly took me to the clinic died in 2005.
My dad saved my life and today because of his guidance am working with a TB community organization at national level as the information & Advocacy Manager . May the God Lord bless you all who are suffering from TB, those of us who have suffered from TB before and also those who have got latent TB.
Anonymous
