Loc
Loc was busy attending school and working two jobs to provide for his toddler and pregnant wife , when he was diagnosed with pulmonary TB through a screening process at his new worksite. Knowing he had 6 months of treatment ahead of him, he initially felt fearful of having a disease he knew very little about. Loc quickly found support and information from the local health district. He took control of his fears and made his TB treatment his top priority, educating his extended family, and helping to dispel any TB stigma. As a preventative, his 18-month old daughter was also treated for TB.
In Loc's words...
“You can cure TB. Don’t be afraid. TB is not like the end of your life. It is very, very easy nowadays if you keep discipline with the medication. Then you will have a healthy life; you will be very strong. Don’t waste your time.”
“When I found out I had TB, I searched on the health district website and then I asked their nurse, if I keep discipline with my treatment, will my TB be gone very, very fast, and not harm everybody? She said yes. So I was very disciplined with my treatment.”
”At the time I heard I had TB, oh, I am very scared because my wife was pregnant and I have a daughter as well. I didn’t want to spread my TB to my family and other people at my work and my school.”
“What challenged me is that I was afraid that people would be scared that I had TB. I was afraid that my wife and my family didn’t clearly understand TB; they would be scared of me. Maybe they won’t want to stand near me. But when I talked very clear about it to my wife and family, they weren’t scared. They hug me like normal. It was good.”
Loc, Snohomish County