When Susan Muthoni became critically ill with HIV-related complications, she quit her job and retreated to her family home in Nyeri, a town in Kenya's Central Province, where neighbours whispered that she could "go" at any time. She told IRIN/PlusNews how she beat the odds to live a healthy and productive life.
"Three years ago I had to leave work after I became too weak. I had lost much weight and even though my employer at a local bar wanted me to go on working, I couldn't. I coughed a lot, had lost appetite for food, my lips would swell and had I had rashes on my neck.
"I suspected something was amiss, so I visited the Kenya Network of Women with AIDS [KENWA] offices in Nyeri for advice. I had been in and out of hospital before but the drugs I got would only work for a while, after which my symptoms would return. KENWA received me warmly and suggested I go for VCT [voluntary counselling and testing]. True enough, the results returned positive.
"A month on, I felt numbness in my left hand. I informed doctors during a clinic appointment and was treated. The numbness persisted and spread to the left leg; I had to literally drag [it] as I walked. Doctors called it a 'stubborn stroke' that haunts me to this day. It hit my entire left side from the mouth, slurring my speech a little, down to the hands, giving me trouble stretching the fingers.
"My sister would visit, doing everything in the house. I was to be admitted to hospital for physiotherapy but I couldn't afford the 200 shilling [about US$3] daily charge. Luckily, I do not have to pay for the ARVs [antiretrovirals] that I started taking three years ago, or the multivitamins and, recently, septrin [an antibiotic].
"In my condition, I could not work like I did before. I have two children in secondary school, and putting food on the table was a real challenge. At times I would go without food for days, yet when one is on these drugs, you are expected to eat well.
"About two years back, my area chief introduced me to a support group - the Chaka Fighters of HIV/AIDS. It really changed my life, helping me overcome self-denial of my condition and live positively.
"When I went to the group meeting, I realised I was not alone in this predicament. I found people to share experiences with; indeed, when one is in lowest of spirits, it is a good forum to pour out frustrations, fears and even laugh.
"ActionAid [an anti-poverty NGO] supplied [Chaka's] members with dairy nanny-goats for income-generation, and foots our drug bills at a local dispensary. My goat has done me wonders - from the milk and the kids. Looking after it is my new pastime.
"Goat-rearing is not labour intensive, yet the returns are hefty. I rarely buy milk from the market; instead, I take the very nutritious goat's milk. I sell the surplus at 25 shillings [$0.35] a glass, and from the proceeds buy a tin of charcoal, cooking oil, vegetables and a packet of unga [maize-meal]. Recently, I sold off a female kid for 10,000 shillings [$143] and now there is another young one awaiting sale!
"Stigma has reduced, family members have accepted me the way I am, my children look out to ensure I take the ARVs as prescribed. When I was put on ARVs, my CD4 count [a measure of immunity] was 84, now it has shot up to 383."
wm/kr/he
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions