Boy on AIDS drugs after needlestick

A bag of hypodermic needles dumped outside a school has turned a Cape Town family’s lives into a “living hell”.

This was after the bag, dumped near a Junior Primary School in Brooklyn, was found by pupils and brought to the playground on Monday. One of the pupils, an 8 year old boy, paid the price.

“We don’t know exactly what happened, but they were playing with the bag and then he got pricked,” said his older brother. The used needle went deep, puncturing the skin and drawing blood.

The doctors started doing all these blood tests , sticking all these needles in his arms. He just sat there with this blank face, he was really brave,” said his mother.

While the blood test results will be available in three months, doctors have already started the child on anti-retrovirals to prevent a possible HIV infection.

Sitting with his family at their Milnerton home, the boy does not seem to understand the seriousness of the situation. The anti-retrovirals have made him nauseous and tired, but to him it is a lot of fuss about a wound that has already started to heal.

Despite the young boy’s bravery and stoicism, the implications may be profound. Stress and anxiety through and beyond that long wait for confirmation that all is well will affect Mum and Dad and the entire extended family.

 

 

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