Father and three children diagnosed with TB
ATailevu man and his three children who beat Tuberculosis have been declared TB champions. Koroi Vueti, 36, of Naivakacau, Bureitu, and his three children, Lilieta Vatulawa, 8, Tinai Leleiwasa, 3, and Simeli Bekanimoli, 5, were diagnosed with TB and have been successfully treated.
A happy Mr Vueti and his three children and were awarded with a TB Champ certificate during the End TB Concert 2018 at Sukuna Park, in Suva, on Saturday.
The concert was an initiative of the Ministry of Health.
This can happen when someone with the untreated, active form of tuberculosis coughs, speaks, sneezes, spits, laughs or sings.
Mr Vueti was diagnosed with TB at the age of 30 and his children were diagnosed with TB over the last six years.
He had lost a lot of weight and had dry coughs for over a month when he decided to visit the hospital where he found out he had TB.
“My grandfather and uncles also had TB,’’ Mr Vueti said. “I was admitted in the hospital for two months and put on a strict diet with seven different medicines.
“After I was discharged, I still had to continue to consume the medicines for six months and also regularly visit the hospital for check-ups.
“After a few years, my children also started to get sick and I saw the similar symptoms in their case as I had.
“I knew they also had TB as it passed through the generations in my family. I took my children to the hospital where they were diagnosed and treated for TB.’’
He said when his children were diagnosed with TB, all he had in his mind was that his children are strong and survivors like him. “I kept praying to God to give my children the strength and ability to go through those times,’’ Mr Vueti said.
“They did not get scared or cry at all and it strengthens me more as their father to see them hospitalised,” Mr Vueti said. He encouraged everyone who could have coughs over two weeks to get themselves checked and ensure they are treated accordingly.