Svetlana met Alexander in the TB hospital ward in the western Belarus city, Grodno. Perhaps not the typical setting for a love story. But every love story starts somewhere.
“My first impression of the hospital wasn’t great,” says Svetlana. “I was shocked because I didn’t expect to be diagnosed with TB. It was difficult to understand – to believe it.
“But after I met Sasha I started to feel better. We met 10 days into treatment and spent a lot of time together. It’s necessary to believe. I decided to cure Alexander – to make him feel real life.
“Before we met, he was more alone. I wanted to take care of him, to cure him and I fell in love. He started to be kinder, more positive.”
Alexander says, “We have the treatment, but a person has to want to be cured. The main goal is cure – if a person wishes it, it’s possible.”
The couple married after finishing in-patient treatment. Both Svetlana and Alexander expect to successfully complete their treatment for multidrug-resistant TB by the end of 2018.