A history of tuberculosis in Dadi’s family

Thank you for coming together to provide TB treatment to Dadi.

Dadi, or “Grandmother,” as she is known by her family members and community alike, is the elderly matriarch of her family.  She is the primary caregiver to many of her grandchildren, as four were orphaned several years ago when their father (Dadi’s son) died of tuberculosis.  With a history of TB in the family, Dadi’s own diagnosis was particularly devastating.  Dadi’s husband is mentally unstable and suffers from severe alcoholism, so he does not work and has difficulty leaving the house.  Dadi is blind in one eye from a fireworks accident and is too old to work, so she relies on handouts from her three grown sons and their family members, as well as her granddaughters, who work as domestic helpers and bring home whatever extra income they can spare ($10 – 15 per month) for Dadi.  The family is extremely poor and suffers from food insecurity on a regular basis.

As soon as she was diagnosed with tuberculosis, Dadi turned to the AIC Health and Community Outreach Centre for her treatment.  Through this program, her TB treatment is closely supervised, and all medical treatments, medicines and testing are provided to her.  She also has the option of coming to the Centre for mid-day meals, which makes a big difference for her, as she does not have a regular source of income and with so many mouths to feed in her house, food is always scarce.  As tuberculosis is most successfully treated when the treatment is closely supervised, her care is carefully monitored by AIC’s trained community health workers, who conduct home visits to ensure that she does not miss any doses of her medication.

Dadi is eager to get better so that she can resume caring for her young grandchildren without putting them at risk for infection as well.  With the care that she is receiving, the prognosis is good and she is on her way to recovery!