MADALA Oscar "Mafia" Zikalala has a bad cough and his mucus is blood-stained.
The 58-year-old madala from Diepkloof, Soweto is on tuberculosis (TB) treatment.
He told Daily Sun that he was first diagnosed with TB in 2012, and was admitted to a hospital in Selby, Joburg.
The leading cause of death in Mzansi struck again in 2019 and this time he was admitted to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto.
“I am taking my medication every day, but this thing (TB) doesn’t want to leave me,” he said.
He said the first time he contracted TB, the doctors could not detect it. According to the madala, he started losing weight because he was not eating.
“The doctors told me my TB was not the normal one that is found in the lungs. I can’t remember what they called it, but they said it was not easily traceable. They also found that I was HIV positive, then I spent nine months in hospital,” said madala.
The easy-going Mafia said he is not ashamed to tell people in his kasi that he is taking both TB and HIV medication.
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He said instead it makes him feel better because he gets a chance to educate others about it and encourage them to test.
“The diseases live in my body. If I lie, will it make them go away? No, so why should I feel ashamed about it? TB is curable. You can overcome it. There is no cure for HIV, but you can live a healthy life for a long time.”
“The most important thing is to make sure you take your medication and look after yourself. What people say or think is none of your business,” said the madala with a smile.
Madala then went into his bedroom and came back with a plastic bag full of tablets.
“I want you to see for yourself that I have the treatment. I don’t miss my dates at the clinic,” he said, adding which ones are for TB and which one are for HIV.
