Hamadi Ali, a TB survivor points at a writing on their living room wall written by his wife to remind him when to take his TB medication. He credits his recovery to the support from his family, health care workers and donors (Global Fund and USAID) for facilitating free diagnosis and treatment.
In March, 2019, 35-year-old Hamadi Ali was working as a shop assistant in Mombasa, Kenya when he began feeling weak and tired. At first, he ignored the discomfort associating it with the heavy lifting of cartons full of books that he was doing. As days progressed, his situation worsened, he started having chills, headaches, loss of appetite and night sweats.
“My health deteriorated as days passed by. I was becoming weaker by the day. Walking also became a problem as I would get tired after walking for a short distance. At work, I spent most of the time seated as my colleagues worked,” Hamadi shares.
This prompted him to buy over the counter pain killers. The symptoms disappeared for few hours and returned when the medicine wore off.
“I continued taking the pain killers for one and half a weeks with no improvement. My body could no longer take it anymore. I stopped working and stayed at home,’’ Hamadi recalls.
His wife and sister urged him to visit a nearby local government facility, Likoni Sub County Hospital for further treatment. At the facility, upon explaining his symptoms to the doctor, he was referred to the facility’s laboratory for sputum collection to test whether he had TB. Since it was already noon, the laboratory technician advised that for the best results, sputum had to be collected in the morning before consumption of food. He was given a sputum collection tube and instructed on how to collect sputum and was asked to return the sample for examination.
“The following day, early in the morning before eating anything I put the sputum in the tube and took it to the laboratory as told. The laboratory technician told me they would call me once the results were out,” Hamadi says.
Hamadi was bacteriologically confirmed to have pulmonary tuberculosis and put on a six-month medication immediately after undergoing counselling. He was required to visit the facility every two weeks to monitor his progress as well as collect his medicines.
“When I was told I had TB, I had a mix of reactions. First, I was shocked because I had seen people die from the disease and thought of myself as the next victim. Second, I was at the same time relived that I was sure of what was ailing me. The doctor calmly counselled me and told me if I take the medicines as instructed, I would get cured and because this is all I had been yearning for, I began the medication with the mindset that I would get cured,” Hamadi recounts.
His wife, sister and children were also invited for TB screening, as it is a contiguous disease, whose bacteria spreads from one person to another through tiny droplets released into the air through coughs and sneezes. Luckily, none of his family members had contracted the disease.
The doctor also advised him to practice cough etiquette as well as stay in a well-ventilated room to avoid infecting those around him. He also got nutritional counselling to ensure he eats a balanced diet.
After five and half months of taking his medication, his health has improved tremendously. He has regained the weight lost and no longer experiences any of the symptoms. He is now able to do part time jobs to feed his young family.
“I am no longer the weakling that TB had turned me to. I now feel stronger and better. I am improving daily. My weight has increased from 44 to 55 kilograms. I am now able to go out to work to put food on the table for my family as well as support them in other areas like pay school fees. In two weeks, I will have completed the medication and hopefully declared TB free,” Hamadi told us during the interview in late September, 2019.
A delightful Hamadi shares that he is grateful to the health care workers and family for the support they have offered him during this time. “A big part of my recovery is because of the support I have gotten from the health care workers whom I interact with whenever I go to pick the medicine. They have always been friendly to me, making me feel wanted and that is the reason, I go back there to pick the medicine. Back at home, my wife and sister have also been supportive to me.”
He continues, “Apart from reassuring me that I will get cured, they have always prepared for me nutritious meals as well as reminded me when I should take the medicine. They have gone further set an alarm on our clock and written on our living room wall a reminder of when I should take the medicines.”
He is also grateful to donors like Global Fund and USAID for facilitating his diagnosis and treatment, “Am thankful to the donors who have helped me get well. Since I was sent to the laboratory to have a sample taken and put on medication, I have not paid anything. This process would have been very difficult for me given the fact that I lost my job when I fell ill.”
Hamadi is now using the knowledge gotten on TB while undergoing his treatment as well as from reading, watching and listening to the ongoing TB awareness campaigns on radio, television, public service vehicles seats, posters and roadside walls to educate his peers in the community that TB is a preventable, treatable and curable disease.
With support from USAID, CHS implemented Tuberculosis Accelerated Response and Care II activity (TB ARC II) is working with the National TB program and other partners to reduce the incidence and number of deaths due to TB in Kenya. This is by increasing timely use of quality TB, TB/HIV & DR-TB treatment by strengthening health care provider and facility performance, and expanding and strengthening TB diagnostic network as well as by developing participatory approaches to improve TB service uptake through awareness and demand for TB services and treatment completion in the country among young men like Hamadi.
