Young family copes with TB diagnosis

Back in March, Natali’s husband and four-year-old son were diagnosed with TB. Natali also had to undergo tests to see if she had been infected. The test results came back a week ago, and she was over the moon to be given the all-clear. This means she has been able to go back to work and resume her normal routine.

Hugo is now a few weeks into his treatment, which is long and extremely intensive, but apart from expected side effects, he says he is starting to feel stronger and more himself. Luís, Natali’s four-year-old will also be starting treatment in the next few days once the necessary documents come through.

TB is sadly extremely common in Peru, perpetuated by cramped living conditions and poor diets. But with the right treatment and a good diet the disease is curable in the vast majority of cases.

A couple of weeks ago, I was able to take a car load of donations up to Natali and her family, with the help of staff from CEDRO, a local NGO. The items included vitamins for the whole family, kindly donated by Judith and Hernán Balcázar and staff at Wall Luxury Essentials, tins of fish, rice, lentils, beans and other pulses from CEDRO and milk, tuna and other tins from Blanca de Romero from Bianco de Mare textiles factory. I also included some clothes and toys that had been donated to The Colour of Hope.

Thank you to all those who are supporting Natali and Hugo’s young family, especially their sponsors Jess and Rosa Batten-Stevens, Judith and Hernán Balcázar and all the representatives of Wall Luxury Essentials, Monica Ochoa from CEDRO, and Blanca de Romero and all her staff at Bianco de Mare textiles factory.