22/02/2013
Amy* is 56yrs old, her husband died 16
years ago, when their daughter was 4 months old, and their son was 4 years old.
She found out she was HIV+ 11 years ago and has been taking ART ever since – it
is thought her husband transferred the disease to her. She suffers from chronic
ear infections, and is regularly on 6 month treatment cycles for them.
Over five years ago she received some
financial aid from OSSA, a good portion of which had to go towards heart
medications for her daughter; she has a heart defect which is currently not
being treated. She is now earning money by selling fruit on the street,
although often suffers vindication from people who are prejudice about her HIV
status.
Her daughter has resigned from her
education to care for her; she is working doing daily labour to earn some money
for them to live on. Her idea is that without her mother caring for her as a
child she wouldn’t have achieved anything, so now it is her turn to care for
her mother.
OSSA provide regular HIV test for her
children, they are both HIV negative, and also home based care for her when she
is unwell. She is grateful for her counsellor, helping her mentally and
physically and providing food when they have nothing to eat.
The sadness here is that her daughter,
who was doing very well academically, has given up her education, granted it is
for a very good reason, but this will also hinder her future.
Kx
*Names have been changed to protect
identity.
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