Grandfather of six thanks ARVs for saving his life
By, Jan de Groot, Sunday Times (Johannesburg), October 1, 2006
Eighty-year-old Jan de Groot, who learnt he was HIV-positive at the age of 67, writes about living and coping with Aids
THE year is 1993. The occasion is my donating of blood to the Natal Blood Transfusion service. The result is that I am not allowed to give blood and that I must see the office.
The outcome is that I am infected with the HIV virus.
I am a white male, at the time 67 years old, a grandfather with six grandchildren, and I know very little, if anything, about HIV.
Questions arise: When did I get it? How did I get it? Why did I get it? Who do I tell? In retrospect, one advantage is that I did not have to decide whether to get tested or not: I was faced with a fait accompli.
I was told: ôYou have been HIV-positive for at least three years.ö
My previous donation was in 1990, when the virus was detected. But apparently they couldnÆt get hold of me ù I was living in Botswana at the time.
It takes time to come to terms with this devastating information. First I started reading up on the virus: the treatment (at the time, nil); coping mechanisms (nutrition, drugs, smoking, alcohol); what societyÆs reaction is; and what the church thinks about it.
I read books: When Bad Things Happen to Good People, by Rabbi Harold Kushner, gave me most of the answers. As a Christian, the Bible says I am forgiven for my sins. Why did I feel that I had sinned and that this was GodÆs punishment? OneÆs mind-set! We inner- stigmatise ourselves.
I went backpacking for a year. I went to Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, learnt to meditate, did a massage course and worked in a hospital for Aids patients. Coming back to South Africa, for me it was important that my secret got out in the open.
I discussed this scenario with my daughter and son. ôGrandpa has got Aids!ö This was 1994, remember.
Another advantage for me was that I had just retired and I did not have the fear of job discrimination.
I joined a support group. I was invited to be part of a programme called Break the Silence, where about 50 people told their stories and these were published with our photos. I gave Aids-awareness talks to church congregations, a few factories, and I started work with the Aids Foundation of South Africa.
I have lived a reasonably healthy life. I knew that garlic was excellent for its anti-bacterial properties ù this was known already by the Egyptians 3000 years ago. So this became part of my diet. I had come across a pamphlet, advocating lemon juice, olive oil and cayenne pepper to assist oneÆs immune system after chemotherapy and that this could be applied to people with Aids.
I had a publication from a nutritionist from Stellenbosch University about the African potato, which could help strengthen oneÆs immune system (it had to be discontinued after about six months, so oneÆs liver could recover).
It is advisable to remain on a healthy diet as long as possible, before getting ARVs. I cycled and walked every day. I cycled in Holland and did hiking trails in Greece and the Tatra Mountains.
I also helped with food parcels and visits to the dying in the informal settlements around Durban. I attended conferences, toyi-toying with Zackie Achmat of the Treatment Action Campaign. The TAC managed to get our ARV medication on a generic list, at a third of the price.
Come June 2001, I had a mild cough, a slight oral thrush and I lost my appetite. Garlic and some medication did the trick against the oral thrush, but I kept on losing weight and becoming weaker. I went to McCord Hospital for an X-Ray, but they couldnÆt find anything ù no TB. I was put on a drip, and that helped just a bit.
By October 2001 I was very sick. I moved to Johannesburg, where I was looked after by my son (who has a family with three small children).
A couple of doctors later, I was operated on to have a gland removed from the top of my left lung. Finally TB was diagnosed ù by that time I had lost at least half my weight, could hardly walk and, to top it all, my youngest grandchild also had TB.
To be properly treated I had to find frail-care facilities, which I found in Durban. My doctor had put me on TB medication and at the same time on a new combination of ARV medication. My CD4 count at that stage was about 50 and my viral load was a figure with six zeros.
When I was admitted to the frail-care facility, my daughter in New Zealand phoned my friend virtually every day to find out if I was still alive, and should she fly out? For the months of November and December 2001, I cannot remember very much. I was on TB treatment for eight months.
I survived this experience. If I had been poor, I would not have survived. The medical cost of the operation alone is over R10000 and the frail-care facility is very expensive.
My doctor in Johannesburg was marvellous. He had to eliminate various causes (I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1992 and I had suffered a mild heart attack in 1996).
It is now 2006. I am well again. I am 80 years old. My CD4 count is 600. My viral load is undetectable. I am back at the Aids Foundation (thank you for having looked after me when I was so sick). I am back at church (thank you for visiting me and giving me spiritual support). I have been to New Zealand to visit my family (thank you for the ticket).
Without the ARV medication I would not have survived. There are many side effects from ARVs ù skin rashes, diarrhoea, depression or peripheral neuropathy. It is expensive and you have to take your medication every day, some with food ù even on holidays, when you are inclined to forget to pack your pills. You have to be monitored for side effects, your CD4 count has to be taken at intervals, so does your viral load.
But it is better to put people on ARVs and let the bottlenecks in the health-care system sort themselves out at a later stage. If we wait to make the system foolproof, we may have many deaths on our hands.
DonÆt get Aids. After at least 10 years of Aids awareness programmes, most people must be aware of the choices.
Why are we so scared to be tested? Legislation is in place to prevent employees from being fired if they are HIV positive. If one knows oneÆs status, one can plan.
Lastly, the male of the species must undergo a mind-set change: any sexual act has consequences and men must take full responsibility and not leave the outcome to the women.
Go well and live positively.
Eighty-year-old Jan de Groot, who learnt he was HIV-positive at the age of 67, writes about living and coping with Aids
THE year is 1993. The occasion is my donating of blood to the Natal Blood Transfusion service. The result is that I am not allowed to give blood and that I must see the office.
The outcome is that I am infected with the HIV virus.
I am a white male, at the time 67 years old, a grandfather with six grandchildren, and I know very little, if anything, about HIV.
Questions arise: When did I get it? How did I get it? Why did I get it? Who do I tell? In retrospect, one advantage is that I did not have to decide whether to get tested or not: I was faced with a fait accompli.
I was told: ôYou have been HIV-positive for at least three years.ö
My previous donation was in 1990, when the virus was detected. But apparently they couldnÆt get hold of me ù I was living in Botswana at the time.
It takes time to come to terms with this devastating information. First I started reading up on the virus: the treatment (at the time, nil); coping mechanisms (nutrition, drugs, smoking, alcohol); what societyÆs reaction is; and what the church thinks about it.
I read books: When Bad Things Happen to Good People, by Rabbi Harold Kushner, gave me most of the answers. As a Christian, the Bible says I am forgiven for my sins. Why did I feel that I had sinned and that this was GodÆs punishment? OneÆs mind-set! We inner- stigmatise ourselves.
I went backpacking for a year. I went to Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, learnt to meditate, did a massage course and worked in a hospital for Aids patients. Coming back to South Africa, for me it was important that my secret got out in the open.
I discussed this scenario with my daughter and son. ôGrandpa has got Aids!ö This was 1994, remember.
Another advantage for me was that I had just retired and I did not have the fear of job discrimination.
I joined a support group. I was invited to be part of a programme called Break the Silence, where about 50 people told their stories and these were published with our photos. I gave Aids-awareness talks to church congregations, a few factories, and I started work with the Aids Foundation of South Africa.
I have lived a reasonably healthy life. I knew that garlic was excellent for its anti-bacterial properties ù this was known already by the Egyptians 3000 years ago. So this became part of my diet. I had come across a pamphlet, advocating lemon juice, olive oil and cayenne pepper to assist oneÆs immune system after chemotherapy and that this could be applied to people with Aids.
I had a publication from a nutritionist from Stellenbosch University about the African potato, which could help strengthen oneÆs immune system (it had to be discontinued after about six months, so oneÆs liver could recover).
It is advisable to remain on a healthy diet as long as possible, before getting ARVs. I cycled and walked every day. I cycled in Holland and did hiking trails in Greece and the Tatra Mountains.
I also helped with food parcels and visits to the dying in the informal settlements around Durban. I attended conferences, toyi-toying with Zackie Achmat of the Treatment Action Campaign. The TAC managed to get our ARV medication on a generic list, at a third of the price.
Come June 2001, I had a mild cough, a slight oral thrush and I lost my appetite. Garlic and some medication did the trick against the oral thrush, but I kept on losing weight and becoming weaker. I went to McCord Hospital for an X-Ray, but they couldnÆt find anything ù no TB. I was put on a drip, and that helped just a bit.
By October 2001 I was very sick. I moved to Johannesburg, where I was looked after by my son (who has a family with three small children).
A couple of doctors later, I was operated on to have a gland removed from the top of my left lung. Finally TB was diagnosed ù by that time I had lost at least half my weight, could hardly walk and, to top it all, my youngest grandchild also had TB.
To be properly treated I had to find frail-care facilities, which I found in Durban. My doctor had put me on TB medication and at the same time on a new combination of ARV medication. My CD4 count at that stage was about 50 and my viral load was a figure with six zeros.
When I was admitted to the frail-care facility, my daughter in New Zealand phoned my friend virtually every day to find out if I was still alive, and should she fly out? For the months of November and December 2001, I cannot remember very much. I was on TB treatment for eight months.
I survived this experience. If I had been poor, I would not have survived. The medical cost of the operation alone is over R10000 and the frail-care facility is very expensive.
My doctor in Johannesburg was marvellous. He had to eliminate various causes (I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1992 and I had suffered a mild heart attack in 1996).
It is now 2006. I am well again. I am 80 years old. My CD4 count is 600. My viral load is undetectable. I am back at the Aids Foundation (thank you for having looked after me when I was so sick). I am back at church (thank you for visiting me and giving me spiritual support). I have been to New Zealand to visit my family (thank you for the ticket).
Without the ARV medication I would not have survived. There are many side effects from ARVs ù skin rashes, diarrhoea, depression or peripheral neuropathy. It is expensive and you have to take your medication every day, some with food ù even on holidays, when you are inclined to forget to pack your pills. You have to be monitored for side effects, your CD4 count has to be taken at intervals, so does your viral load.
But it is better to put people on ARVs and let the bottlenecks in the health-care system sort themselves out at a later stage. If we wait to make the system foolproof, we may have many deaths on our hands.
DonÆt get Aids. After at least 10 years of Aids awareness programmes, most people must be aware of the choices.
Why are we so scared to be tested? Legislation is in place to prevent employees from being fired if they are HIV positive. If one knows oneÆs status, one can plan.
Lastly, the male of the species must undergo a mind-set change: any sexual act has consequences and men must take full responsibility and not leave the outcome to the women.
Go well and live positively.
posted by AIDS-Care-Watch at 3:14 pm
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