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KHOPOTSO: Moruti Christo Greyling o bile le tshwaetso ya HIV lemong tse 20 tse fetileng ka mora hore a etswe puo ya leihlo. Jwalo ka ba bongata le yena ha a ne a qala ho lemoha hore o ena le HIV selemong sa 1987 o ile a hopola hore bophelo ba hae bo fihlile pheletsong. O ile a etsa qeto ya hore a arohane le morwetsana wa hae wa mehleng eo lebitso la hae e leng Liesl. Empa Liesl o ile a hana ho utlwa seo a mo kgodisa hore o mo rata lerato lena la haesale ho se natsehe hore o ena le tshwaetso ya HIV. Lemong se hlahlamang ka 1988 bobedi bona bo ile ba nyalana. Le jwale ba ntse ba le mmoho. Ka mora nako ena yohle Liesl ha a na tshwaetso ena ya HIV. Jwale potso ke hore: Ka mora dilemo tse 16 tsa lenyalo le thobalano ho tla jwang hore tshwaetso ena e se fetele ho mmaMoruti Liesl Greyling?

REV. GREYLING: That’€™s (an) important question in the sense that very often faith leaders and people of faith have a very negative connotation about condoms. For me, that is the saving grace. That’€™s what kept Liesl negative. We realised from the first moment that we got married that we’€™ll have to use condoms all the time to protect her. And we did. And after 16 years we’€™ve shown that with the correct and consistent use of condoms you can prevent infection’€¦ We also took all the necessary other precautions in terms of blood contact, and so on’€¦ But, the main thing we had to make an adaptation in our lifestyle is just to make sure that Liesl does not get infected sexually.          

KHOPOTSO: Moruti Greyling o re yena le mohatsae ke bopaki bo bontshang hore motho o ka kgona ho itshireletsa kgahlano le kokwana hloko ena le hore dikgohlopo di bapala karolo e kgolo ho thusa ka morero ona.

REV. GREYLING: It is not an instrument of promiscuity only, but it’€™s just a piece of latex that becomes an instrument that can save a life.        

KHOPOTSO: Ho fihlela jwale tshwaetso ya HIV e ne e amoha batho tshepo ya hore ka tsatsi le leng le bona ba tla hlohonolofatswa ka bana. Le ba lelapa la ha Greyling ba ne ba phela ka tsebo eo ‘€“ hore ba ka se ebe le ngwana eo e leng wa bona.

REV. GREYLING: Ha-ha-ha’€¦ Well, that was never a possibility ‘€“ not even a faint possibility ‘€“ because we didn’€™t want to take the risk of having Liesl becoming infected as well.

But with the recent research, which indicates that there is a correlation between the number of viruses that’€™s in the person’€™s blood and the risk of transmitting the virus, we realised that if I would go on antiretrovirals and pushed my viral load down to a undetectable level, then the chances of transmission become very low. We didn’€™t do this lightly. We were reading for about three years on this. We did a lot of research (and) went to a lot of medical doctors. I eventually found somebody who had a similar situation like me ‘€“ who are both doctors ‘€“ where the wife is also negative and the husband is positive. He’€™s also haemophiliac. They decided they’€™re gonna take that risk’€¦ So, we did that. For six months I was on antiretrovirals; got my viral load down; had both of us checked for fertility; made sure what Liesl’€™s ovulation cycle would be like – when she would be in the most fertile time; and then we decided we will only try for three months; and if it didn’€™t work in three months, fine. First month, bang! Liesl fell pregnant. And now we have little Anneka, which means Grace. She’€™s now one-year-and-three-months-old.

KHOPOTSO: Pejana ka 1990 moruti Greyling o ne a sebedisa dihlare tsena tsa

di-antiretroviral empa a kgaotsa. Ka mora lemo tse supileng o ile a boela a nka meriana ena empa a kgaotsa hape ka baka la hore ha e a ka ya dumellane le yena. Ka Mmesa wa 2002 o ile a boela a sebedisa mofuta o mong wa di-antiretrovirals ka mora hore yena le mohatsae Liesl, ba nke sepheo sa hore ba ka rata ho tlisa lekgabunyane lefatsheng ‘€“ hona ka mora dilemo tse 14 ba nyalane. Empa ho na jwale moruti Greyling o re ha a no pheta a tlohela meriana ena hobane ha o nkile qeto ya ho e sebedisa o tlamehile ho etsa jwalo bophelong ba hao bohle. Liesl le moradi wa bona, Anneka, ha ba na tshwaetso ya HIV ho fihlela lena le hodimo.  

REV.GREYLING: We tested Liesl during the process and just shortly after we heard she’€™s pregnant. We waited for two-three months; had the test done to see that she’€™s negative. And we knew then that if Liesl stays negative, which she did, then Anneka will stay negative as well. And she is’€¦ It’€™s not necessary that she goes for testing. The reason for that is that the virus is not in the sperm cell itself, but in the seminal fluid around the sperm cell. So, if Liesl didn’€™t become infected the little embryo that starts after fertilisation is HIV negative.

KHOPOTSO: Ebe moruti a ena le takatso ya ho ka hlahlamisa Anneka?

REV. GREYLING: Ask the wife. Ha-ha-ha. At this stage that’€™s a open question. We haven’€™t cleared that out in our own minds yet.

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