Thembisile Msimango, 40, Braamfischerville (Soweto)
Thembisile Msimango has been living on ARVs for 9 years. She says that the clinics are failing to provide good information on HIV and that many people are too intimidated by the nurses to get what they need. “My future is bright. It’s just normal… I’m just looking at the future and thinking of great things and so many things I would like to achieve because I feel like I can do anything.“ Thembisile started her ARVs in October 2012. She started off on TEE. Last year she switched to TLD and was on it for over six months but she had a non-stop headache so she switched back to TEE.
Thembi says that nothing is different now that she is living with HIV, other than that she pays more attention to her health, and takes a daily dose of treatment. She has no side effects.
She has four children, all of whom are HIV-free. Only the youngest was born when Thembi was living with HIV. She stayed on ARVs for the duration of her pregnancy and then the baby was given medication up until she stopped breastfeeding. She says that she was not worried about her baby’s status because she knew that she was undetectable. She had nurses who helped her through her pregnancy.
Thembi says that she felt like her status was going to be a huge burden for her first daughter to deal with but that her children have been an amazing support. Sometimes she finds it very tiring to take her pill every day, sometimes she feels like she doesn’t want to take it. She hopes that one day there will be another way of taking her ARVs other than a pill.
The one thing that she really wants is for people to have more information about HIV and treatment. She feels like the nurses and clinics fail the public quite often and that information needs to be available to make sure that people stay on their ARVs.
Thembisile Msimango has been living on ARVs for 9 years. She says that the clinics are failing to provide good information on HIV and that many people are too intimidated by the nurses to get what they need. i
Thembisile Msimango, 40, Braamfischerville (Soweto)
Thembisile started her ARVs in October 2012. She started off on TEE. Last year she switched to TLD and was on it for over six months but she had a non-stop headache so she switched back to TEE.
Thembi says that nothing is different now that she is living with HIV, other than that she pays more attention to her health, and takes a daily dose of treatment. She has no side effects.
“It’s all about acceptance and understanding your medication.”
She has four children, all of whom are HIV-free. Only the youngest was born when Thembi was living with HIV. She stayed on ARVs for the duration of her pregnancy and then the baby was given medication up until she stopped breastfeeding. She says that she was not worried about her baby’s status because she knew that she was undetectable. She had nurses who helped her through her pregnancy.
“When you are suppressed you can have a boyfriend who is negative and you won’t infect the next person. Taking your medication is a good thing. “
Thembi says that she felt like her status was going to be a huge burden for her first daughter to deal with but that her children have been an amazing support. Sometimes she finds it very tiring to take her pill every day, sometimes she feels like she doesn’t want to take it. She hopes that one day there will be another way of taking her ARVs other than a pill.
The one thing that she really wants is for people to have more information about HIV and treatment. She feels like the nurses and clinics fail the public quite often and that information needs to be available to make sure that people stay on their ARVs.
“My future is bright. It’s just normal… I’m just looking at the future and thinking of great things and so many things I would like to achieve because I feel like I can do anything. “
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