The Toll TB Can Take

During a cross zone visit to the Medavakkam REACH DOTS centre, an activity done to get to know the   happenings of other zones, I visited a 60 year old patient with my colleague, Mangai. A glance at the patient, and I was pushed into a state of shock. The patient who had pulmonary TB, and was sputum +ve, 3+ wore no flesh on her body. She was a bag of skin embracing a skeleton. She couldn’t even sit up. Having seen such a picture of a TB patient only on the internet, the reality of the disease hit me hard. I felt a deep sense of discomfort and alarm on the long road we have to travel to stop the disease from further destructing mankind.

Kalaivani

REACH Blog Team

Bravo! You Finally Did It!!

As pretty as her name, 22 year old Rosy has been battling Tuberculosis for the past 4 years. A sputum +ve patient initially,she completed the first line of drugs (Category I) with several interruptions. Affected again with the disease, she was put on the second line of drugs (Category II), again she comleted treatment with many interruptions.

Rosy contracted the disease from her deceased father. In love with a boy, Rosy could not pay enough attention to her treatment. Even on days when Rosy went to the DOTS centre to take her medicines, Dheena, the REACH field staff had to keep a strict eye on her, else she would throw away the tablets. Rosy became pregnant but was not married. When her son was born, the baby was taken away from her by the baby’s paternal grandparents because she had TB. Determined to be with her baby, Rosy then completed her treatment, and went to live with her son. However she was diagnosed with TB the third time, and she was sent back to her parents.

Rosy finally realized the importance of being regular and completing her treatment. She has now completed her treatment and is cured. She has lost faith in her relationship with her lover as he does not intend to marry her neither has he cared nor provided for her and their son.

However Rosy hopes of a brighter future and plans to leave the city to live with her maternal uncle in Delhi, who is a eunuch and whom she fondly calls aunt. Her aunt has promised to take care of her and her baby.

Completing treatment for a street dweller like Rosy is a hard task.  Poor and homeless their lives are transparent and exposed to the hard realities of life. Making them adhere to any set patterns or procedures is not easy.

Thanks to Dheena’s enduring hope and perseverance Rosy is cured and healthy today.  

Anne Theresa Suresh Kumar

REACH Blog Team

The Bond Continues

Even after seven years of being cured Sathyabama pays Dheena a visit with great affection and gratitude. A mother of two Sathyabama was clear that at no point would she disclose the fact of TB to her husband. Though she and her husband share a relationship of love and care, disclosing TB to him was a definite NO for her, as she feared rejection.

“ Without Dheena’s care and support I would not have been able to complete my treatment. She was very accommodative and allowed me to take my tablets at my convenience. It feels great to be alive and my life is very happy. Thank you Dheena” says a cheerful Sathyabama full of gratitude.

Anne Theresa Suresh Kumar

REACH Blog Team

Guidance at the Right Moment

“God comes down to earth through people and extends his helping hand to those in need. Chitra directed us towards the right source at the right moment. Today my father is cured of Tuberculosis and is a healthy man again“ says Manochandra overwhelmed with gratitude.

His wife and son were both born at the C. S. I. Kalyani Hospital where the REACH DOTS centre is lodged. This is where he brought his father when he showed signs of illness. When Tuberculosis was diagnosed  Chitra, the field officer at the REACH DOTS centre referred them to the Gandhi Hospital in Pondicherry for DOTS as they live in Pondicherry. Manochandra feels there is something special about the Kalyani Hospital for his family, because every time they come here the outcome is good.

‘I can’t thank Chitra enough for what she has done for my family, her patience and compassionate counseling skills has been instrumental in healing my father” said a happy Manochnadra to me over the phone. During his visit to the hospital to thank Chitra he had called as he wanted to thank our organization and the people behind the scenes too.

Dear Manochandra thanks for the pat on the shoulder!

Anne Theresa Suresh Kumar

A Day of Visiting Patients

Last week I went on visits to patients and it’s always interesting to study the perspective of the patient on problems with regard to adhering to TB drugs.

The first house visit after a fairly good bus ride was met with disappointment as the house was locked. The patient had been irregular with his medicines as he was addicted to alcohol and his neighbor and provider complained about him always spending time in  wine shops and not being interested in  consuming his drugs.

On the second visit we were happy to find the patient at his house. He was also irregular with his tablets  and had only  2 more IP strips to complete but had taken to drinking. On enquiring he told us that he had taken to drinking due to financial pressures and the strain of arranging his only daughter’s marriage.  I tried very hard to drive home my point. I have to wait to know if all my talking made an impact on the patient.

Being a bit disappointed that the previous two patients were not taking their drugs the third visit cheered me up. We were greeted with the barking of a dog in a small room. Inside we met the patient and his wonderful family. The patient told us how he had recovered from being so sick to now going out to work as an electrician. Ramjee was filled with joy and said,” You look like you are a bridegroom” I encouraged him to continue to be regular and headed out into the hot sun.

Next we visited a patient who had been very sick with high sugar and hypertension. She was bedridden and her doctor had advised to put her on AKT-4.We thus wrote a letter to the doctor asking him to advice us when we should start her on the maintenance phase of drugs.

An assortment of challenges in a day… .

We hope that our visits, interactions, and letter would work and patients would make better choices for their health.

Sheela Augustine

REACH Blog Team

A Happy Coming Together

It was a moment of triumph for me to see Surya walk into the Medavakkam REACH DOTS centre with her little bundle of joy cuddled up between her arms. Surya had happiness written across her face as she beamed with glee.  A total contrast to what she was when I first met her two weeks back.

Surya’s brother had come to the DOTS centre with a referral from the Medavakkam Government Hospital to start her on DOTS. Surya stayed at her parental home as part of the custom after delivery, usually followed to allow a woman recuperate her health after child birth before she goes back to her husband’s home. I met an extremely gloomy looking girl who seemed to be disinterested in what I had to say . When I enquired what  her grief was about, her parents  told  me that she had delivered a baby two weeks ago, after which she had severe cough. Surya was diagnosed with Tuberculosis at the Government TB Sanatorium. When they consulted their nearby family doctor, he advised her husband to take the baby away from her and stop her from nursing the baby. He said they could give back the baby to her after she started to feel better.

I immediately called her husband and requested him to meet me at the DOTS centre. He did not turn up. Meanwhile I started Surya on treatment. A week later her husband visited me, I explained to him that a mother does not spread the disease through breast milk. I also made it clear to him that his wife was a sputum negative patient, and that such patients do not spread the disease. I also told him that after two weeks of treatment a patient is safer and does not spread the disease.” Please don’t deprive your baby of her mother’s milk, a right of every child to good health” I explained. I further gave them the number of the Medical Officer from the Medavakkam Government Tuberculosis Unit, from whom they could further verify and get a second opinion on what I had said. However, understanding, what I said and clear of all his misconceptions, Surya’s husband handed over the baby to her.

After the tragic separation Surya and her little one are now back together, happy and engrossed in each other’s company.           

Mangayarkarasi

REACH Blog Team

A Cured Patient Stopping TB

Thirumal is a 42 year old patient who has just been cured from Tuberculosis after undergoing DOTS treatment through the REACH Minjuir DOTS centre. Couple of months back Thirumal was in bad shape. He could barely stand on his feet and couldn’t even go about his daily duties without assistance. Cured now and aware of the nature of the disease,Thirumal talks about the disease and its symptoms to people in his vicinity. He assists the REACH staff at the DOTS centre in creating awareness in the community by distributing pamphlets containing TB information and by mobilizing people to attend TB talks.

“I want a community free of TB” says Thirumal.

Sai Dinakar

REACH Blog Team