Thirty people have died daily as a result of AIDS, according to the Southern African HIV and AIDS Clinicians’ Society since the moratorium. One of the lives lost is that of Lehlohonolo Mathetsa’s husband. Sitting on a bench outside her shack, Mathetsa told the story of the father of her child.
‘On December 12, my husband went to National Hospital. They took his blood and he tested positive for HIV. On the 15th of December we went to test as a family and it was found that I have a CD 4 count of 758 and my husband’s was 59. My husband fell very ill after that. All he was given was Bactrim tablets and he was referred to Pelonomi for ARVs. When we got to Pelonomi we were told that there were no medicines. He could only get treatment after a number of months’, she said.
Mr Mathetsa died on the 18th of last month after yet another visit to Pelonomi Hospital in an attempt to get antiretrovirals.
Sanah has been on the waiting list for treatment since last October. The 22 year-old mom told us her story on a Wednesday afternoon in between spoonfuls of soft morning porridge.
‘I’ve been going to Pelonomi Hospital and each time I ask the sister there when I’ll get treatment, she says after April – and only if there is money. But I’m sick. I want treatment. I want to get better. My CD 4 count has been low since last year and my viral load is high – and time is running out. My CD 4 count is currently 195’, she says, clearly desperate.
Slouching in a couch, Elsie is a picture of ill health. Her CD 4 count is 49 and she is showing a whole host of signs, including weight loss, sunken eyes and difficulty speaking. She says she ‘cannot do anything for herself’. ‘I’m always tired. I feel dizzy. Just to get up from bed in the morning is a mission. Then I’ll sit on the bed. My husband will then wash me and make me food and give me tablets’, says Elsie.
All that the patients on the treatment waiting list ever receive is Bactrim to prevent pneumonia and Vitamin B supplements in the place of ARVs.
