I saw Thobile this past week Tuesday. She had just returned from her visit to Baylor. When I went out to the van and she saw me, she squealed and ran to get a hug! Her smile was huge, but she looked so thin and is getting around very slowly. She has started getting daily injections for TB again. We had to start TB treatment all over again, since her mom didn’t keep up with her treatment last time and she is still positive for TB.On Thursday I got a call from one of the doctors at Baylor. I was told that the TB culture that was taken the last time she was in the hospital just came back and was positive for multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB. This is unfortunately not good news. MDR TB is extremely difficult to treat. It requires a very intense treatment regimen with many different drugs, one of which is also a daily injection. I’m not so confident that her mom will be able to keep up with this regimen, since she has not been consistent with the other regimen.
I am not sure if they will want to hospitalize her or just have her come in daily for her injections. The cost for transport to go to the TB clinic daily for Thobile and her mom is R20 ($3.00) per day. We have been paying the transport costs for this and for school. It is getting more and more expensive as fuel costs continue to go up. We would appreciate if someone would come along side us and sponsor Thobile’s ongoing medical costs (which may include hospitalization
I don’t know how good her prognosis is, given the malnutrition and wasting that she is already suffering from. These drugs have many side effects and require good nutrition in order to work. This will be quite a challenge for Thobile and her mom. Please help us pray for a good outcome for this precious little girl!
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