NPR

Life After TB: She Is Deaf, She Still Dances, She Addressed The U.N. Today

Nandita Venkatesan of Mumbai, India, has survived two rounds of tuberculosis though one treatment caused her to go deaf. She now advocates for other TB patients and survivors.
Nandita Venkatesan, a TB survivor, spoke at the U.N.'s first high-level meeting on tuberculosis. "It's humbling," she says. "Not long ago I was just a girl lying in bed with a hopeless future."

On Wednesday, as part of the United Nation's annual General Assembly in New York, world leaders are convening for the first ever high-level meeting dedicated to fighting tuberculosis, and Nandita Venkatesan got the chance to share her story as a survivor in the opening session.

"It's humbling," Venkatesan says of her inclusion in the program. "Not long ago I was just a girl lying in bed with a hopeless future. I never thought I'd get out of bed, let alone fly to New York."

Just a few days after her 24th birthday,

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR2 min read
As Theaters Scramble To Reach New Audiences, Three Get $1 Million Each
The Mellon Foundation announced grants of $1 million to three theaters: Actors Theatre of Louisville, Long Wharf in New Haven and Portland Center Stage.
NPR2 min read
A Bus Plunges Off A Bridge In South Africa, Killing 45 People
An 8-year-old child is only survivor. The passengers were headed to an Easter festival before the bus plunged off a bridge on a mountain pass and burst into flames.
NPR9 min readWorld
Fractures In The Grand Alliance Between Black And Jewish Americans
The Grand Alliance between Black and Jewish leaders, known largely for shared work on Civil Rights in the 1960s, has a complicated legacy--and an uncertain future between these communities.

Related Books & Audiobooks