Today was World AIDS day. And I hardly noticed. What I did realize was the number of new patients that walked through our clinic today. I saw a toddler, brought by his mother. He was tested at 6 weeks of age. HIV positive. Yet only now, months later, did the child arrive on our clinic doorstep, severely malnourished with likely TB complicating his life, teetering on the edge of hospitalization.
Another school age girl was brought by her grandmother. Her parents have passed away. The child is severely malnourished. She has TB. She sat in our exam room chair, taking up only a small corner of the chair as I watched her legs swinging.
Why do we see patients like this every day, walking through our clinic doors? Why does there have to be so much stigma attached to this disease that patient care is delayed? How can we better educate the public about getting help and seeking care?
When my mind is just swimming and I need a break, I think about the places I have "taken a break" at recently. My recent trip to Kruger, during which all 5 of "the big 5" were seen over the course of a few days, stand out. In addition to seeing the animals from our car, we also walked for two full days in the bush, seeing smaller animals, plus rhinos, crocodiles and hippos....and not thinking at all about why HIV/AIDS continues to destroy lives in this beautiful part of the world.
1 comment:
Those are difficult questions. I think you are on the way to answering them....doing what you are doing and sharing your experience.
All 5 on the same trip! Nice! Walking for 2 days sounds great too. Did your guides have guns? Sounds like I need another trip to Africa.
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