TB returns after 14 years
After 14 years, the disease resurfaced. In June 2024, Reena started feeling very weak- so much so that it was difficult for her to stand up, let alone walk. She also had difficulty in breathing due to constant coughing. She even had to leave her job of a house maid due to her persistent ill health.
At that critical juncture of her health, she was fortunate enough to meet Jyoti, a dedicated TASA (TB Affected Street Activist) working with Humana People to People India during a "Saheli Support Group" meeting in the slums, with whom she shared her situation. Saheli Support Group (Saheli is a Hindi language word for two or more female friends) brings a community of women together to support each other and help raise TB awareness.
Convinced that Reena's symptoms were indicative of TB, Jyoti took her to government-run New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) Chest Polyclinic (near Bangla Sahib Gurudwara), who directed them to a close by government-run Lady Hardinge Medical College and Associated Hospitals for a TB test. Jyoti got Reena's X-Ray done as well as sputum tested for TB. But the hospital staff said that TB was ruled out as the tests were negative. However, despite repeated requests, the doctor refused to give them the X-Ray and sputum test reports.
Unconvinced and deeply concerned about Reena's persistent symptoms, Jyoti took her back to the NDMC Chest Polyclinic. On her request Reena's chest X-Ray was taken and her sputum examination was done, and the results came positive for TB. Without any further delay, Reena was put on treatment. Jyoti helped Reena open and link her bank account with an Indian government scheme "Nikshay Poshan Yojna" under which INR 500 are transferred to a TB patient's bank account every month for the duration of the treatment for nutritional support (this amount has been increased to INR 1000 since January 2025).
Since then, Jyoti has been following up regularly with Reena during the treatment, providing counselling support to her, as well as guiding her on hygiene and infection control. Reena's health condition has improved since then. Her treatment, that began in August 2024, was to be completed in February 2025.
When I met her in early February 2025, I found Reena in a cheerful mood. Narrating her ordeal, she said she was feeling much better and had also started working part time (for 3 hours daily) in a shop. But there was still some weakness left in her body.
Reena told me that she has faced stigma and discrimination from her neighbours, who refused to speak with her or go near her, because of her TB. Even in the Saheli Support Group meetings, some women refused to sit near her. So, she stopped interacting with them. Her husband too would mistreat her. He would scold her as she was unable to do housework due to her illness. But his behaviour improved with time and now he has started supporting her.
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