Posted By: ivillagecares on
E-mailed from Swaziland, by Christy Turlington
We spent a few hours at the Baylor Clinic which provides pediatric AIDS care to children and their families. We met a mother there with her six-month-old son who had just tested negative. She tested positive early enough in her pregnancy to be eligible for the single dose of nevirapine during labor and her son was given a single dose of a syrup form of the same drug within the first three days of his life (this halves the risk of transmission of HIV from the mother to the baby). Had she been tested earlier at this clinic she would have had even more treatment options during the pregnancy. She has also been diligent in her breastfeeding exclusively until now (no formula or other foods until 6 months, strongly recommended if you are unable to do exclusive formula feeding from birth, which would ensure no transmission via breastfeeding), so her son is healthy and strong.
She now faces another challenge, which is to successfully wean him from her breast onto formula and food to avoid future transmission now that he is 6 months old and clear of infection. Formula is obviously more expensive than breast milk and not as readily available, and for this only part-time employed mother, will present yet another pressure. She was unable to check her CD4 status (which measures the strength of one's immune system at a given point) because machines were down for the day but was counseled during her visit on the various options and told to return to the clinic to take the test in a few weeks' time.
The American doctors that are working here in Swaziland are committed for one to two years as volunteers and were assigned here because of the urgency of the situation in this country.
We also met five adolescents between ages 12 and 17 who come to the clinic regularly for treatment as well as counseling. This was a particularly emotional visit because most of these children are double orphans, having lost both parents to HIV/AIDS. These children have only recently learned of their own HIV status and have been directed here for support amongst their peer group away from their homes and schools where they are unable to share their health conditions because of the stigma that still exists. They are heartbreaking and inspiring at once in that they speak so candidly about all that they are enduring in the midst of learning to cope. They are fragile and vulnerable and yet pragmatic about their fates. I was in tears by the end of hearing their stories. It is hard to fathom that despite all the public service information that is available and seemingly visible that people are being shunned by their communities.
The clinic now serves as a community for these children and there are many positive models in others who volunteer here who are HIV-positive, and going forward in their lives with optimism and hope. We met three such volunteers, mothers who have dedicated their time and their lives to counsel other woman who find themselves in similar positions as they themselves were when they first learned of their own HIV status as pregnant women. They were each shocked when they tested positive and shocked that they could continue their pregnancies in that state. But, they were also relieved to learn that they could be treated and that there was a strong likelihood that their children could test negative, if they had the correct treatment.
All but one of these three mothers' babies have tested negative and the child who tested positive is now three years old and has not shown signs of sickness so far. Now that ARVs are available, he will have the chance to live a long and full life. The future will be different for these young people and that is an amazing thing to report back to you given that (PRODUCT) RED is one of the reasons why.
