From survivor to TB champion, Meghalaya's Ridaline helps patients fight disease, its stigma

Shillong: She is cured now but Ridaline Shullai's fight against tuberculosis continues.

The 32-year-old from Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills district, who lost a lung to the ailment and is coping with its impact, has gone from being a tuberculosis survivor to a TB champion and is helping others to combat not just the disease but also the stigma accompanying it.

"Tuberculosis does not discriminate, yet those who suffer from it face judgment. Stigma can kill even before TB does. So I became a TB champion to raise awareness about the disease," Ridalin told PTI.

Narrating her battle with TB, Ridalyn said that in June 2015 she developed a persistent cough, fatigue, night sweats, hair fall, skin peeling and suffered a severe weight loss.

Initially, she thought it was just the flu and ignored the symptoms, but her condition worsened. "I tried homoeopathic and herbal treatments but feared the worst -- my father had died from extensively drug-resistant TB in 2013," she said.

A month later, Ridaline was diagnosed with multidrug-resistant TB and was admitted to R P Chest Hospital in Shillong, on September 14, 2015.

"My condition was so critical that doctors told my family I had only two months to live. My mother never lost hope and kept this truth from me until November 2016," she recalled.

The treatment regimen was brutal -- six months of daily injections and 14-16 medications for two years, Ridalin shared.

"The side effects were excruciating -- nausea, burning sensations, nerve pain, tremors, and hearing issues. Some effects like numbness in my feet still persist. I isolated myself, avoiding the stigma surrounding TB, while my mother remained my pillar of strength," she said.

On September 23, 2017, Ridalin was declared TB-free.

"But my battle wasn't over. TB had collapsed my left lung, leaving me with only one functioning lung," she said.

Five years later, she was diagnosed with axonal neuropathy which causes chronic pain, numbness, and mobility issues. The damage TB leaves behind is lifelong.

"Many think TB ends when treatment does. But for survivors like me, the struggle continues. I lost years of my life while my peers moved on. We must replace ignorance with knowledge and compassion because TB, though ancient, still kills millions today," Ridaline said.

Talking about the stigma tied to the contagious disease, she spoke of a friend who faced tremendous isolation after being ostracised by her friends and community and ended up taking her own life.

"Her classmates started ignoring her to the extent that they would change paths to avoid coming face-to-face with her. This aggravated the already unbearable pain and side effects she was suffering from. I tried to motivate her to continue with treatment and counselled her. But she lost the battle and ended her life," she recalled.

Ridalin is now a TB champion. She motivates those diagnosed with the disease to adhere to the treatment regimen. Besides, she also counsels them and supports them emotionally so that they don't give up on Life.

She is not the only one. There are many more like her who have defeated TB and are now working with the government to raise awareness about the disease, identify potential patients and help them with the treatment course.