August was our coldest month here in Grabouw, with lots and lots of rain and snow capping the surrounding mountains. Despite the hostile weather our home-based care ladies still continue to be true to their calling and are making daily visits to our patients on foot. We have also managed to continue with a lot of refurbishments and this month, thanks again to the Gerald Wright Trust, the whole of the outside of our building now has a fresh coat of paint. It looks very smart!
The inpatient unit has had a mixed month. We sadly lost a patient who gave up the battle with HIV but also happily we were able to send home another patient who had arrived less than a month ago with a very low CD4 of 8. She looks happy and healthy and to see the thanks in her little daughter and mother’s eyes makes our jobs all the more worthwhile. CD4 is a way of measuring the amount of white blood cells your body has for fighting an infection. A person with a normal CD4 is around 1500 to 2000 so you can imagine, when this lady arrived with a CD4 of only 8 we didn’t not know whether she would survive!
One of our male out patients who had been living for years with a tumour on the whole of his back is doing very well after it was surgically removed. His self esteem has grown hugely now he doesn’t have the burden of the tumour. He is now doing so well that he has been able to fly home to Nigeria and join his wife and kids. He was always very involved in our life at ThembaCare and would often be part of our weekly church service. We will miss him greatly but are so happy he is doing so well.
