Zambian activist and patient advocate Carol Nyirenda delivered the following speech at RESULTS 2011 International Conference donor luncheon:

“In 2001, when I lost my husband, I too fell ill after his death and was bedridden for months. I had very little hope of getting well especially when I was told after a biopsy taken that I had a skin cancer called Karposis Sarcoma. Little did I know that this was just the beginning of many years of pain and helplessness. I later developed a dry cough which, after many X-ray tests and going back and forth to the health centre, was finally diagnosed as Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis. Because I was getting little response from the treatment, I was then tested for HIV and confirmed to be positive.

“During this period I was ill, I was unable to work which made it even more difficult to pay for hospital visits, let alone the treatments. Through support from my family members, I completed my TB treatment but could not afford to continue buying my antiretrovirals (ARVs) and had to stop the HIV treatment. As we are all aware, during those early years, I had been given a death sentence. Imagine, being co-infected, faced with the dual burden of being sick and still being expected to provide and care for my family. There was nothing that I or my family could do. With two young children to look after and retired parents, there was nothing left to do but to stay in bed until my time to die came.

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