Happy people

The stories of her recovery are surprised, their love stories even envy. Many have a question on their lips – is this possible? They smile, hold hands, get inspired by each other. Sergey and Natalya … Happy people!
Two years ago she was bedridden with liver cirrhosis, encephalopathy, with the fourth stage of HIV infection, was brought to her parents in Ust-Kamenogorsk to die. And today she is happy, standing on the banks of the Irtysh, looking at her beloved with enthusiastic eyes and breathlessly talking about their acquaintance.
– Before meeting with Serezha, there was nothing good in my life. The only bad thing is drugs and colonies. What was it to live for? I thought I was going to die. This will make everyone feel better, – says Natasha.
Both remember the cold winter, the disbelief of relatives that will rise, cries of pain. Sergey came to this house as an employee – an equal navigator of the public fund “Answer”. I really wanted to help. He brought medicine, looked for doctors, talked for hours. All this was not a burden, on the contrary, I wanted to come.
– Persuaded to take antiretroviral therapy. At first she refused. She was sure she would die. And so that I did not insist – hid it under the pillow. But at the beginning, of course, I did not insist. But he was quietly convincing. He was frank about his life, – says Sergey.
His fate is not easy either. And she is very similar to Natasha. Drugs, colonies, HIV infection … I fought for a long time to change for the better, to become free. I set a point of no return to that life for myself. At baptism, he bathed in a holy spring, prayed in church, gained strength of spirit and began a new life.
First, he began to work in a non-governmental public organization, where people came for help. Accompanied for testing at the AIDS Center, for diagnostics at the anti-tuberculosis dispensary, learned how to convince, prove, defend his point of view, and also be kind and understanding. And that was happiness! But the fact that he will become even more, that love will come – he did not even dream of that.
Coming to Natasha, I caught myself thinking, when I saw her, my heart was beating somehow in a special way. Therefore, he impatiently hurried to a well-known address, looked into his eyes from the doorway, held his hand for hours. Taught me not to lose heart, smile, get out of bed. Then there were walkers, then the first independent steps. As if life is anew. Another, in love. Real. In unison with each other.
They are family today. Together. They even have alarm clocks for antiretroviral therapy at the same time. They work in one public organization – PF “Answer”. Both are peer navigators in the USAID flagship HIV project in Central Asia. One of their professional tasks is to increase the motivation of representatives of key groups to pass express testing. Sergei and Natasha are looking for them themselves, provide counseling and do express testing.
– Express test for peri-gingival fluid is easy to use. It can be done on a bench in the yard, in a car, at home. After 15-20 minutes, the person already knows his HIV status. In the meantime, he is waiting for the result, you can talk with him about the risks of behavior, ways of transmission of HIV infection and precautions, says Sergey.
“It is easier for us than for healthcare professionals to convince a key group person to find out their HIV status. They trust us more. The earlier a person is tested, the earlier he will begin treatment if necessary, which means he will remain healthy, ”adds Natasha.
Today, as well as tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, Natasha and Sergei, having packed their backpacks with express tests, tablets for keeping records, disposable syringes, lubricants, information materials, are once again sent on their route to work “in the field”. They should help many more people. And may there be more happy ones on their way!