The disease that changed my life forever

"Yan Xia" (an online name meaning "Hot Summer"), a 25-year-old migrant worker.

I was diagnosed with tuberculosis in Nov 2012, after a CT scan at a large hospital in Jinan, Shandong province, after I coughed up blood. I had also coughed up blood when I was working at a construction site a few days earlier, but I didn't pay any attention.

After the test results came though, the doctor gave me a mask and told me to wear it. He didn't give me a diagnosis, though. He just told me to go to a nearby hospital that specialized in treating lung diseases. I had no idea what was happening, and was very confused in the ambulance he'd arranged to take me to the hospital.