The Story of Precious
At the age of four months, Precious was abandoned by her mother. When she was a toddler her father passed away in car accident, leaving her in the care of her paternal grandmother. Even though her grandmother cares for her deeply, she was not able to get a grant from the government to help support Precious. Meaning that Precious and her grandmother live on a meager pension fund that her grandmother gets from the government.
Since birth, Precious has not been well. For the longest time her family didn’t know what was wrong with her. At the age of 14 she was diagnosed with HIV. Having gone to multiple governmental hospitals, she was not able to get help for sickness until she came to Sinkithemba clinic in 2006.
Through Sinikithemba, LSA’s treatment partner, Precious was able to get the medicine she needs for her HIV, which helped her stay well. Unfortunately, she contracted tuberculosis, which is quite common in individuals with HIV. Due to the type of drugs she was taking for TB, her liver started to fail and she had to be hospitalized.
Precious was then admitted to Siyaphila, she was extremely malnourished, only weighing 68 pounds and could hardly walk. Fortunately, Precious was able receive LSA funds which allowed her to receive the much needed treatment to save her life.
As Precious got better she spoke of her hopes and dreams she after left the hospital. She talked about wanting to complete 11th grade, which she was currently in. She hopes to become a schoolteacher. She also said that she wants to get better so that she can start dancing, which is one of her favorite things to do.
After three weeks of hospitalization, Precious was able to walkout of the hospital on her own and continues to show signs of improvement. Precious’ story is not unique; she one of many who get sick and need excellent and compassionate care to get better. Without funds from LSA, she would not have been able to afford and receive the necessary treatment and care needed to get better.
Written by Phil Winternheimer
LSA’s Intern serving at Siyaphila Hospice
