Jacqueline sought help from the Hepatitis C Community Association, which immediately mobilized to find her accommodation, which was only found after 3am on Wednesday.
Its history is full of contradictions and paradoxes, revealing the weaknesses and irregularities of the system.
Originally from La Paz, she lived in extreme poverty because she was nearly blind and had to take care of her disabled daughter. In 2014, she was diagnosed with hepatitis C, which later led to cirrhosis of the liver.
Despite this, she was excluded from the liver transplant list, even though CENATH (Center for Liver Transplantation) requested that her house be air-conditioned to keep it in good condition during the postoperative period, and the Sunca Brigade helped her with some preparations Work. Improve.
In 2016, he received one of 20 treatments for hepatitis C donated to Uruguay by the Brazilian government, which helped him stop the disease but did not earn him a spot on the list of possible beneficiaries of a transplant.
Jacqueline explained to Callas Carretas that her current situation was very delicate because, in addition to cirrhosis of the liver, she also suffered from a genetic disease that caused dislocation of her hip and kneecaps and left her almost completely blind.
“I had an ultrasound last week and in addition to the fact that I already had liver cancer, they found a blood clot in my portal vein. They told me that since there was nothing they could do to me that day, I should go home on Tuesday I came back again, but I waited from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. without even lying down on a chair,” he said.
“If they told me at six o’clock in the afternoon there were no beds, I would have decided to go home and not go home until three o’clock in the morning because I was in pain all over and had a tachycardia. We also had nothing to eat, we barely had enough bread. and cold cuts. I am not complaining about the medical team, they are very good. I am talking about the organizational part of the hospital and the users. How can they keep someone like me under treatment for such a long time without any form of help What? I speak for myself and for everyone who comes from far away and has to go through the waiting room and has no other choice,” he reiterated.
Jacqueline is the head of the family and receives Meades’ pension.
Jorge Adán, president of the Hepatitis C Community Association, explained to Caras y Caretas that Jacqueline was a founding member of the organization and that when she had cirrhosis and was excluded from a transplant, her condition worsened and Hepatocellular carcinoma developed, so she had to undergo chemotherapy.
“We have been asking associations to carry out population screening to avoid this situation. There are more than 40,000 people living with hepatitis C and 90% do not know they have hepatitis C. Prisons and mental health centers are high-risk settings, ” he added.
Recently, hepatitis C community associations demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Health demanding better conditions for the fight against the disease.
Adan expressed concern and said hepatitis C was not being treated as well as it should be and people with the disease were being discriminated against by the Ministry of Public Health. “Hepatitis C patients were cured after taking medication for three months, but MSP covered up the disease,” he added.
In Uruguay, almost 100% effective treatment has been achieved thanks to the support of the Municipality of Canelones, which fights this disease in partnership with the Hepatitis C Community, the Department of Pharmacology of the Clinic Hospital and the School of Medicine ( Udelar) and the Hepatitis C Community Association.