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)
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