It is the season to be thankful...for all the 70 plus friends who celebrated American Thanksgiving with us in Swaziland last week, for all those celebrating with us from afar, and for all those who worry right along with me about whether my young hospitalized babies will pull through. I sent home a toddler today who will start ARVs from our clinic tomorrow, her mother thankful, hopeful and proud. And I admitted a teenager who has no reliable caregiver, has defaulted on taking his ARVs and defaulted TB treatment twice in one year. Are we creating an unwanted cycle? Will the one-year-old continue to take her medicines for the rest of her life? Or will she too stop? Not only do I sometimes feel like I am traveling in circles, I often feel like I am moving backwards. We joked about the Swazi Times newspaper headline from a few weeks ago....just like the chickens in the article, were our Thanksgiving turkeys fed ARVs? Is this what people really do with the medicines we work so hard to procure and distribute? Let me complete my list. I am thankful for those who care about their health enough to seek care and properly take their medicines!
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