Living with Tuberculosis in Rio
Geraldo Cruz de Souza, 56, rests in the window of a hall way where his cement house is located inside Rocinha favela in Rio. De Souza was selling drinks at a kiosk on the beach in Rio de Janeiro until October 2008 when he was already diagnosed with TB and taking medicine. His condition deteriorated so fast; within five months, he showed little sign of progress, and was losing weight so much. Although he was one month before the final blood test, he still had stomach pains. He lives inside a small concrete house with no window, thus making it harder for him to cure. Without a job, he pays the rent from his son's earning as a janitor, and lives off of the food from his ex-wife and donation from neighbors.
