HOOP

The most common diseases I am faced with (weekly, sometimes daily) are HIV and Tuberculosis.

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. If left untreated, HIV can lead to the disease AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).
Unlike some other viruses, the human body can’t get rid of HIV completely. So once you have HIV, you have it for life.

HIV attacks the body’s immune system, specifically the CD4 cells (T cells), which help the immune system fight off infections. If left untreated, HIV reduces the number of CD4 cells (T cells) in the body, making the person more likely to get infections or infection-related cancers. Over time, HIV can destroy so many of these cells that the body can’t fight off infections and disease. These opportunistic infections or cancers take advantage of a very weak immune system and signal that the person has AIDS, the last state of HIV infection.

No effective cure for HIV currently exists, but with proper treatment and medical care, HIV can be controlled. The medicine used to treat HIV is called antiretroviral therapy or ART. It is given in South Africa if the CD4 score turns lower than 350.
If taken the right way, every day this medicine can dramatically prolong the lives of many people with HIV, keep them healthy, and greatly lower their chance of transmitting the virus to others.  Today, a person who is diagnosed with HIV, treated before the disease is far advanced, and stays on treatment can live a nearly as long as someone who does not have HIV.

Tuberculosis, commonly known as TB, is a bacterial infection that can spread through the lymph nodes and bloodstream to any organ in your body. It is most often found in the lungs. Most people who are exposed to TB never develop symptoms because the bacteria can live in an inactive form in the body. But if the immune system weakens, such as in people with HIV or elderly adults, TB bacteria can become active. In their active state, TB bacteria cause death of tissue in the organs they infect. Active TB disease can be fatal if left untreated.

Because the bacteria that cause tuberculosis are transmitted through the air, the disease can be contagious. Infection is most likely to occur if you are exposed to someone with TB on a day-to-day basis, such as by living or working in close quarters with someone who has the active disease. Even then, because the bacteria generally stay latent (inactive) after they invade the body, only a small number of people infected with TB will ever have the active disease. The remaining will have what's called latent TB infection -- they show no signs of infection and won't be able to spread the disease to others, unless their disease becomes active.

Because these latent infections can eventually become active, even people without symptoms should receive medical treatment. Medication can help get rid of the inactive bacteria before they become active.

TB was once a widespread disease. It was virtually wiped out with the help of antibiotics developed in the 1950s, but the disease has resurfaced in potent new forms -- multidrug-resistant TB and extensively drug-resistant TB. This is often the consequence of irregular use of medication.

TB and HIV often go hand in hand. When the immune system goes down,  TB is one of the most common diseases what is becoming active.
At the moment a few of our ladies are very sick with (open, active) TB. It takes a lot of wisdom what to do. You want to love them, but you need to be careful as well.

Last week I took Janna* home for an afternoon. She is living on the streets. I really love her, she is very special for me and she is calling me mother. But she is not only sweet. Whe walked already four times away from the TB-hospital. They lost hope... And we are worried about her. She is so skinny, sick and weak. She is just not finishing her cure of antibiotics.
I hoped by taking her home last week, she would feel loved and special, what can empower her to choose life.
I took her in the train, where she was sitting on the floor, sleeping on my knee. I underestimated her weakness, by the train station in Bellville (15 minutes walk from our house) it became clear she was not able to walk. She was crying by every step. So I dropped her somewhere (and told her to STAY on that specific spot!) and I went home to fetch my scooter. And THAT was a thing she enjoyed! I was a little scared. But we arrived safely home. After a shower (wow, when she looked clean, it was a transformation, she is so beautiful!) we spent the afternoon outside, where I let her watch a movie and baked her pancakes and ministered her in prayer.

Please pray for wisdom and health in this area! Too many ladies already died unnecessary!