By Oluatoyin Alleyne
More than a year ago Mark (not his real name) thought he was at death’s door as he battled a number of opportunistic diseases due to his HIV/AIDS status.
Mark had reached a stage where he could no longer walk or do anything to help himself and it was in this state he arrived at the HIV/AIDS hospice in an ambulance.
Now after seven months in the hospice thirty-year-old Mark is literally back on his feet, has re-entered the job market and supports himself, something he had not done for over a year.
“I would have call me good as dead, I done prepare to dead and I did give up,” Mark recently told Stabroek News.
Mark says he is grateful for the assistance he received from the hospice, which is funded by the US government’s PEPFAR initiative in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Diocese of Georgetown’s Society of St Vincent de Paul (SSVP).
The centre caters for the palliative and rehabilitative care of HIV/AIDS persons but persons are only admitted on referral from doctors at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), St Joseph Mercy Hospital and Davis Memorial Hospital.
And Mark is not the only person who was nursed back to the stage where they could take care of themselves, according to Chairman of the centre, Joel Freeman.
Freeman told Stabroek News that there were at least four persons who were at death’s door when they arrived at the centre and after a few months they were discharged and re-entered the job market.
He said that since the centre opened its door last year March more than 25 persons were referred for assistance. Between March and December last year 25 persons were admitted and out of this number 11 were discharged.
According to Freeman out of that number six passed away even though everything possible was done to assist them. “They were really at the end stage and basically what we did was to help them to be comfortable so that they could have passed away with a peaceful mind,” he said. Between January and February this year, Freeman said, four persons were admitted and usually the patients are allowed to remain at the centre between three to six months. But there are some who remain at the centre for extended periods because they have no where to go.
Medication regimen
Freeman disclosed that most of those admitted become ill after discontinuing their anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment or not keeping with the prescribed method of taking their medication.
Mark admitted that was the reason he became very ill more than five years after he learnt of his HIV/AIDS status. He said that he learnt of his infection in the year 2000 and while at that time he thought his life might have been over he had the support of his family. In his early twenties then, Mark said life for him had just begun when he became ill and he was forced to seek medical attention. It was during that process in 2000 he learnt of his HIV positive status. “I don’t know if I had it long before but is in 2000 I know I had HIV,” the man said.
He said immediately he was placed on the ARV treatment and after sometime Mark said he felt strong and fit as before so he decided to stop taking his medication. One of the reasons he took that decision was the amount of tablets he had to take on a daily basis. Sometime after discontinuing his treatment Mark said he got ill and even though he returned to the treatment he found that his condition worsened.
“Until one day I went to the hospital and they take me to the centre in an ambulance, I think I did done dead,” the man said. He said even though he became very ill he continued to get the full support of his family and they still support him today.
While at the centre Mark said he remained bedridden for almost three months “but them nurse [at the centre] really try with me and I grateful for everything they do for me.” After the first three months he said he started to move around and he would interact with the other residents of the centre. “We would watch TV and sometimes I would read books, we would also go downstairs and so on,” the man said.
Finally after seven months he walked out of the door of the centre and returned to his former occupation. His employer does not know of his status and as far as he sees it “life is back to normal.”
The centre’s chairman said that they have had residents as young as 14 and as old as 63. He said that a child was among the six persons who died but these persons had the virus from birth and there was not much that could have been done for them when they arrived at the centre. In all the cases family members claimed the bodies of their loved ones.
Poor diets and neglect
He said that the lack of medication is not the only reason that persons become very ill and have to take up residence at the centre – some are also on poor diets while others are neglected by those close to them.
Employees of the centre ensure that the residents are properly fed while counselling along with care and support are provided.
Before they are discharged the centre, along with the assistance of social workers, ensures that they return to a welcoming environment and this is one of the reasons that nine persons are still residents as they have no where to go.
According to Freeman they would also liaise with non-government organisations (NGOs) who do home visits in an effort to have the discharged residents placed on their lists of persons to be visited. “This is to ensure that they continue to use their medication properly and they are eating well and receiving support,” Freeman said.
He said that the residents receive the assistance of a physiotherapist and they are arranging to take them on tours around the country since at present they remain strictly in the confines of the centre. Freeman said as best as they could they always ensure that family members are involved in the rehabilitation of the residents since their support is vital to their improvement.
At the centre the residents live in dormitory conditions with the males and females in separate accommodations.
While the centre has a visiting doctor if persons become too ill they are sent to the GPHC for medical treatment and when their health improves they are returned to the centre.
And Freeman said although neighbours in the area where the centre is located are aware that it houses HIV infected persons, there has never been any problem. “It looks like a friendly home, the environment is very clean and tidy and even though the residents are in the yard sometimes, there has never been a problem,” he said. The centre can only accommodate 17 persons at a time and there has never been more than that number.
