HIV carrier brings help to hundreds
Source: Xinhua |
December 1, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
WEARING high heels and black leggings, 39-year-old Zhang Lin looks as composed and classy as any other working woman in the city of Ruili in southwest China's Yunnan province.
But just seven years ago, Zhang was wracked by depression and anger, unable even to leave her own home.
"For months, I couldn't get out of bed. I felt that my world had collapsed and that there was nothing to live for. I wanted to die," she said.
Zhang's husband died from AIDS in 2004, leaving her infected with HIV and a 4-year-old son to care for. Zhang's emotions ran from anger to denial after she found out she had the disease.
"My late husband became very sick in September 2003 and was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. I was tested HIV-positive at the same time," she said. "I couldn't believe that I was ill. I didn't do anything wrong," she said.
When her husband died in 2004, the reality of her condition began to kick in and Zhang began to receive anti-retroviral therapy in September that year, becoming the second HIV carrier in Ruili to receive the treatment.
After receiving treatment and attending lectures on HIV/AIDS sponsored by AIDS Care China, a non-governmental organization aimed at supporting people with HIV/AIDS, Zhang began to face the disease positively.
She set up the Ruili Red Ribbon Home in May 2006 with the support of the ACC, the Ruili AIDS prevention and control bureau and the municipal center for disease control and prevention.
"Our NGO provides consultations and psychological support to people with HIV/AIDS, distributes medicine, visits patients in hospital and organizes group activities to help AIDS patients and HIV carriers bond," said Zhang.
The Ruili Red Ribbon Home is currently helping 723 people living with HIV/AIDS and has assisted more than 900 people in total since its inception, Zhang said.
According to figures from the Ministry of Health, China has 346,000 registered AIDS patients and HIV carriers.
Zhang found a purpose and met her second husband, another HIV carrier, after starting work at the NGO.
"Most infected people want to shut people out, so I share my story with them, hoping they can identify and stop feeling shunned," Zhang said.
But just seven years ago, Zhang was wracked by depression and anger, unable even to leave her own home.
"For months, I couldn't get out of bed. I felt that my world had collapsed and that there was nothing to live for. I wanted to die," she said.
Zhang's husband died from AIDS in 2004, leaving her infected with HIV and a 4-year-old son to care for. Zhang's emotions ran from anger to denial after she found out she had the disease.
"My late husband became very sick in September 2003 and was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. I was tested HIV-positive at the same time," she said. "I couldn't believe that I was ill. I didn't do anything wrong," she said.
When her husband died in 2004, the reality of her condition began to kick in and Zhang began to receive anti-retroviral therapy in September that year, becoming the second HIV carrier in Ruili to receive the treatment.
After receiving treatment and attending lectures on HIV/AIDS sponsored by AIDS Care China, a non-governmental organization aimed at supporting people with HIV/AIDS, Zhang began to face the disease positively.
She set up the Ruili Red Ribbon Home in May 2006 with the support of the ACC, the Ruili AIDS prevention and control bureau and the municipal center for disease control and prevention.
"Our NGO provides consultations and psychological support to people with HIV/AIDS, distributes medicine, visits patients in hospital and organizes group activities to help AIDS patients and HIV carriers bond," said Zhang.
The Ruili Red Ribbon Home is currently helping 723 people living with HIV/AIDS and has assisted more than 900 people in total since its inception, Zhang said.
According to figures from the Ministry of Health, China has 346,000 registered AIDS patients and HIV carriers.
Zhang found a purpose and met her second husband, another HIV carrier, after starting work at the NGO.
"Most infected people want to shut people out, so I share my story with them, hoping they can identify and stop feeling shunned," Zhang said.
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