Norah’s Story
Do you or does someone you love struggle with depression? Can you tell when they’re going through a season of feeling down? How can you tell?
Some signs of depression include increased fatigue and not taking care of general hygiene. Small, easy tasks become too exhausting when you’re feeling held down by the weight of depression.
When depression hit Norah, she stopped taking her HIV medication and stopped attending her counseling sessions.
As time passed, her brother began to notice. Her brother was in HIV treatment at Cherish Health Center, so he knew all too well that there are unfortunately many reasons why people don’t take their medicine: lack of transport to a health clinic to get their medication, lack of food (it’s hard to take it on an empty stomach), stigma, drug side effects, and sometimes the burdensome amount of pills to swallow (each person has their own “HIV cocktail” of assorted medication). Many young women are in relationships where they don’t want their partner to see them taking their pills. Others are too afraid to disclose their HIV status to family and friends because they fear getting discriminated against.
Norah had stopped taking her medication for months.
Her brother began taking her to clinic after clinic in the area she lived, yet Norah’s health still suffered. The doctors they were seeing and the medications they were getting prescribed weren’t helping. Her health was deteriorating. HIV weakens the immune system and makes the body more susceptible to diseases.
Norah was at a low point, she was unable to walk and in severe pain.
Just as the men in Luke 5 carried their paralytic friend to Jesus, lowering him through the roof, Norah’s brother carried her to Cherish Health Center in search of hope. They arrived just in time for Doctor Florence to immediately resuscitate her. She was put on an IV and the team ran lab tests. They analyzed her vitals, looked over her health history, and began to assess the best personalized care plan. With time, counseling, and treatment, Norah began showing great improvements.
Her brother is thankful for the holistic care given by Cherish Health Center and we’re thankful that he noticed the signs that his sister needed help. We’re thankful he carried her in. Upon leaving the brother was praying a blessing over the staff and the clinic to show his gratitude.
The great thing about Cherish Health Center is its size. The clinic is small enough to create a personal relationship with the patients, yet large enough to handle tough situations like Norah’s. The staff is committed to caring and loving each patient through the journey, not just in a time of emergency. We check-in. We follow up. We monitor their physical health, but we also try to pay attention to the spiritual and emotional health of each patient.
Over the past couple of weeks the Cherish health team has followed up with Norah and reported that she is doing very well. Each day she’s getting better and better and she has promised to restart her ART treatment and to stick to it this time. With counseling, prayer, and the encouraging support of others we are confident that she will.
Over the next few weeks, please keep Norah in your prayers if you think of her. Thanks to supporters like you, lives are being saved at Cherish Health Center. We could not operate without the generosity of people like you. Know that as part of the Cherish family, we also pray a blessing and have immense gratitude for you.
The name in this story was changed to protect the privacy of the patient.