A TB survivor tells her story - Part 1: symptoms

Transcript

Transcript - A TB survivor tells her story. Part 1: Symptoms

Transcript - A TB survivor tells her story. Part 1: Symptoms

(Gentle music plays in background.)

TEXT on Screen: Health in Our Hands

TEXT on Screen: A TB survivor tells her story

TEXT on Screen: You are watching part 1 of a 6 part series.

TEXT on Screen: Part 1: Symptoms

(First Nations woman sitting on couch)

TEXT on Screen: Eileen Necroch

Eileen Necroch: When I first got diagnosed with tuberculosis, we had a family member that was rushed to Saskatoon, so we went to be with her at that point and 10 minutes on arriving, I fainted at her bedside. The emergency doctor came in and saw me and asked me if I wanted to be admitted, if she could check me out, so I agreed, I said okay.

I had a cavity in my lung like that, (indicates size using thumb and forefinger to denote 1 inch diameter) and it was on this side (woman indicates right side of upper chest).

And when I was spitting up the blood, prior to be diagnosed with TB, I could feel it coming up. Right up this side. (woman indicates right side of neck) And of course I had to cough to spit that out.

The doctor said, "well you've been coughing."

I was like, "no I haven't."

And she goes, "but you've been spitting out blood, you've been coughing."

I said, "Well of course I've been coughing, I have to cough to spit out the blood."

She goes, "Well have you experienced night sweats?"

I said, "once. I said, but I'm going through peri-menopause."

"Well, have you been sweating at all?"

I said, "Yah, but I'm going through peri-menopause."

And she goes, "but you've lost your appetite."

And I go, "Yah, but I'm stressed out, we just lost my mother in law."

So in the beginning I found every excuse not to have tuberculosis.

I was not aware how long I had TB. I was diagnosed at a plus 3. I don't know how long it took me to get to a plus 3. The stages of infectious TB are plus 1, plus 2, plus 3 and plus 4 being the highest.

TEXT on Screen: Health Canada. Learn more about TB at healthycanadians.gc.ca/tuberculosis

TEXT on Screen: Government of Canada Wordmark

TEXT on Screen: Produced by APTN (Aboriginal People's Television Network)