“I am very thankful for Leonel’s help. Without his help, me and many others would not have survived.”

Sixth and final home visit is to Salvador Ceinales, who lives with HIV and receives treatment for TB as well. All HIV treatment in the country is paid for through Global Fund finaning.

Salvador was diagnosed with HIV in 2008. He was so sick, he didn’t think he would make it. Recently, when he was diagnosed with TB, he initially didn’t want to go through the ordeal of treatment again. Eventually, Leonel convinced him to start (TB) treatment. It took a very long time for Salvador to get diagnosed in the first place, and was in bad shape.

Today, Salvador is an outreach worker.
Salvador is now on TB treatment for two months. The first TB pills gave him lots of side effects, including nausea, itches, and overall weakness. But so far he has stayed the course and is on a second set of pills, which have much fewer side effects.
Salvador doesn’t work anymore. He receives a dietery supplement normally given to children because he doesn’t have enough to feed himself, and it increases his chances of recovery.

His wife died in 2008 after she allegedly infected him with HIV, but never revealed her status. That was the single most hurtful thing to him. Both Salvador and his deceased wife had other partners before marrying. Salvador was fired from his job after he needed to produce a medical approval from his doctor, thereby forced to reveal his status to his employer. They never gave him the real reason for being fired, but Salvador is convinced it was because of his status.