This young girl came to us in October 2007. Although she was born with HIV, the disease progressed very slowly and she was 13 before she became ill. When she came to us she was very weak and her CD4 count very low. Her liver function was also very bad so it would be dangerous to put her on any drugs which would also affect her liver.

One of the dangers of a very low CD4 count is that the body is unable to fight any illness so they lie dormant in the body. Once one improves the CD4 count, either through good nutritions, or medication, the illness "reconstitute'' themselves and this make the child very ill, even to the point of death.

It took us a while with juggling drugs to combat the skin problem the HIV was causing, while trying to improve her liver function enough to start her on her anti retroviral drugs. Finally, at the beginning of January we were able to start her on her anti-retroviral drugs. We monitored her very carefully for the first 3 weeks because that is the danger zone.

When she passed the 3 weeks without serious problem, we decided to let her go home because she was so keen to go back to school - she started high school this year. We will continue to monitor her health through our outreach clinic in Katlehong, the Township where she lives.


We misss her tremendously because , although she is quiet and shy, she has a lovely sense of humour and loved teasing us. Still we are so glad that she has a home to go to and a loving family to care for her.







Birthdays!

When our children turn 7, we have a special birthday party for them and take them out for the day. In February we have 4 boys turning 7 and trying to organize a different outing for each of these boys has been a mission because we have had so much rain. We're scared to plan an outdoor party because it would be ruined if it rained on the day.


The first of the parties is this afternoon so look out for the photos next week!