Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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New Vision (Kampala) - November 17, 2003
Charles Wendo
In 1989 Ruranga's doctor told him he had up to three more years to live. Ruranga spoke out openly, sought help and resolved to learn widely about the disease that would kill him.
In 1992 he got sponsorship to attend the International Conference for People Living with HIV/AIDS, Acapulco, Mexico, where met people who had lived with HIV for more than 10 years. He was surprised to see them looking healthy and running up and down demonstrating.
"I stopped worrying about death. I just couldn't see any reason why I should die when other people were living long," he said.
In recent years Ruranga has been swallowing anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs).
However, he says without hope and a strong heart, he would have died before ARVs became available in Uganda.
"The main reason I'm still alive is not drugs," he said.
His magic is the gut feeling that he is not going to die soon. This feeling, he says, keeps his mind and body healthy.
"I have lived with HIV for nearly 20 years and I don't think I will be killed by this thing," he said. "Probably I will die of age and not of AIDS."
Ruranga's second weapon is good feeding. He doesn't mean exotic foods.
He simply makes sure he has breakfast, lunch and supper daily. He combines locally available foods such as beans, peas, groundnuts, chicken, matooke and local cereals to get a balanced diet.
That is not all. "I had to stop the old order and start a new life. I used to drink a lot; I have stopped. I used to smoke; I have stopped," he said.
In addition to hope, Ruranga employs good health habits such as hygiene, and promptly seeking healthcare whenever he feels unwell. He also keeps busy to prevent worries.
Milly Katana, an activist, has lived with HIV for 14 years. She agrees with Ruranga on diet, hope, treatment for opportunistic infections and peace of mind.
She cautions that keeping HIV infection a secret leads to self-destruction.
She says, one needs to understand how society responds to people living with HIV and how to interact with them. This, she says, would prevent mental torture.
Rev. Gideon Byamugisha declared his HIV status 11 years ago. He probably got the infection five years earlier.
He says he keeps faith in God, prays, accepts the infection as part of his life, and seeks healthcare whenever he feels unwell, and prevents stress.
"When you have social, medical and spiritual support there is no reason you should not live long," he said. "I don't go to God begging to live longer. I say 'God, let thy will be done.'I pray as if everything depends on God and act as if everything depends on me," he said.
Jeff Palmer might have got HIV in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Today, he publishes a magazine in the United States, for people living with HIV/AIDS.
He attributes his long survival to anti-retroviral drugs, determination to live and aggressiveness.
Palmer's testimony, and those of others, strengthens the view that HIV infection is not necessarily a death sentence. It is a virus that should be feared, but can be disarmed with positive living.
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