I came to London from the Ukraine. I am a student. I was surprised by everything that I have seen. After I stayed here for one and a half months I started coughing. Sometimes just a few seconds, sometimes longer. I didn't know what had happened to me and went to a big hospital in central London. I was checked up and had an x-ray, but a doctor found nothing. Then I was given some tablets. My cough was reduced after taking the tablets, but in the beginning of February I started coughing out something brown, but didn't pay attention. It was going on about one and a half months. Then sitting at home for the first time I coughed up blood. But it wasn't much, I was scared and went to the hospital again.
I was checked up again, often waiting about seven hours in the hall. Also a doctor took my spit for test. When I came home after hospital I started coughing up a lot of blood and felt weak. The following day I got a letter from the hospital to come immediately. When I came I was told that I had caught TB and had to stay in hospital for two weeks. To tell the truth I wasn't upset very much because in the Ukraine if you have TB you have to stay in hospital for at least four months. I had a broncoscopy - at the third day in the hospital and after I had been taking the tablets. For the two weeks I was in hospital I was in a single ward with Sky TV, shower and toilet. I had a good meal three times a day.
I am grateful to the team, which treated and took care of me, because they tried their best to help me. Even an exercise bicycle was taken from the nurses and brought to me. It was a good idea because they missed it very much and they used to come to my ward to ride their favourite bicycle. And so I had good opportunity to improve my English talking to them.
Reproduced with kind permission of the UK Coalition of PLW HIV/AIDS
