MISS Durban 2023, Sithandiwe Mlambo (20) from Pietermaritzburg, KZN, is going big on TB awareness.
She was only nine years old when she was diagnosed with the disease, and now wants to visit local hospitals to support kids with TB.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal student started modelling at the age of 15.
“I was mainly interested in fashion modelling. I quickly grew a love for pageantry two years later. When I was nine years old, I was diagnosed with TB. For years, I had always been sick. The doctors could not find anything medically wrong,” said Sithandiwe.
She said a doctor suggested she do surgery on her neck to have some TB tests.
"The doctors told my parents that I’d have to be hospitalised for six months. However, when I got to King Dinuzulu Hospital, they said it was possible to go back home and take my medications, injections and pills. The injections went on for six months. I took my pills for over two years. I had to travel monthly to King Dinuzulu Hospital for doctor's appointments and the collection of medication,” Sithandiwe said.
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She said that during that period, she saw little children who were also hospitalised.
“They were alone for months with no comfort from loved ones. As a TB survivor, I know what it's like, especially when you are a minor and you don’t understand why you take so many pills and injections every day. I have contacted the hospital and asked to visit the children within their TB unit,” she told Daily Sun.
Sithandiwe said her goal is to educate people and break the stigma around TB.
She believes that many people, especially her generation, are not well informed about this disease.
“People battling this disease need support and warmth to get through one of the most difficult times in their lives," Sithandiwe said.
