Life after beating hep c.

A month has passed since receiving the news I had for so long dreamed of hearing, " the hepatitis c virus is no longer detected in your blood ."

Fact is I have been quite low since that day & this has no doubt affected my son as well, thankfully I was given a print out of my blood test, otherwise he may have wondered if it had indeed been a success, given my low moods. My spirit is slowly rising, it seems there is so much to take in, first of all there is a big hole where the cause of fighting hep c, (which took every waking thought & action ) used to be. Starting to rebuild a life, where  before just maintaining ones self was the only aim, now having as brighter future as most other people take for granted.

Jnr drawn in Paris

This is the point where I shake off the sombre past & realise just what I, WE, have achieved & that now what is needed is to applie the dedication devoted to the exorcism of HCV from body & now soul, to making a secure future for the two of us. I should mention that my son Peter has cerebal palsy, a fact I have not mentioned before, only because we are normal decent people & don't want or seek sympathy from any quarter. Though now those of you who have followed our story, will understand the true depth of meaning to the phrase " I am so proud of my son ."

My son has been at my side all the way through, fed me shopped for us whilst holding down his university education, it is thanks to him that my punctuation is much better ( I left school at 14 ), something he has taught me, as an English student himself. Now he has his father on the mend & together we face a brighter future. He is now a very good cook, something that stands him in good stead with his contempories, on study evenings they peel chop & wash up, whilst he works his magic in the kitchen, they save a few quid & enjoy a good meal in return. We are on the up, lord knows we deserve it, nothing is said, we rub along quietly both taking care of our chores, but we know we're on the up, as I sit & type I can hear his TV in his room, it is so quiet where we live, peaceful.

We have been invited to our friends villa in Cyprus & as soon as my passport arrives I will make the arrangements. Since I began treatment in January 08 I have lost 6 friends to cancer 3 to liver cancer, those are just the people I've heard about.

All our futures are uncertian to a point, my dear friend Alan reached that point, where his future was very certian, he was given 3 months to live, it was near enough.

I wrote a tribute to him on this site, king of the one-liners.

I often think of him, I hoped he was doing all he could for me from the other side, I think of him being happy that at least one of us beat hep c.  His last words to me were, You have yourself a good life & remember to have some fun... I intend to take his advice

Peace to all,

Rabbit  .

A FINAL HIT

You out Sucka !

A week ago today I returned to my local hepatitis clinic to receive my treatment result, the final blood test result taken 6 months post tx, the Polymese chain reaction test commonly known as the PCR.

Rather than go into some long winded description of my emotions building up to that afternoon what I will say is, yes I was about as emotionally taught as one could ever be. The day was a carbon copy of the day just over two years earlier on which I had completed the same journey to the clinic, blue skys all day. Then to be told my final PCR test. That day it came back ' virus still detected.

This time I arrived sat down & immediately my name was called, I followed the doctor back into her desk, sat down & placed my ipod into my bag which I placed between my feet as I raised my head up to steal myself for the worst, her big beaming smile said it all, she was holding out a sheet of A4 announcing " you will want to read this, I had it printed out for you, " 

                   
                  CONFIDENTIAL RESULT

Reported                   Speciality      Location        Clinician               Status

22 Mar 2011 10:46 Virology/Serology    xxx           xxxxx (MWM)         F


Order Comment:
Sustained virological response  (SVR) .

Sample Ns 298566R (SERUM) Collected 14 Mar 2011 15:10  Received 14 Mar 2011 17:12
Hepatitis C PCR
    Hep C RNA                                      Not detected
    HCV Quantification Number               0
    HCV Quantification Log                     0
    HCV  PCR Lower detection Limit      15.00                 IU/ml


                                                              End of report

I sat & gazed at the page not trying to read it I knew very well it contained the news I had so long waited to hear.

So there it is my battle with hepatitis c is over, now I find a giant hole in my life, all of a sudden the very thing that has been driving me along, the enemy I have fought in so many ways, using every ounce of energy & every waking thought to achieve this one aim, that focus is gone & believe it or not I'm finding it hard to take in. No jumping for joy no wild celebrations, just still in the same routine eating, resting, walking & sleeping, only now the phantom aches of the phcycologic variety are all but gone & a sense of inner peace has descended.

Twenty five or more years ago I made a big mistake & since my HCV was detected & explained to me 14 years ago I've been paying for that schoolboy error. Not even expecting to be rid of it for 10 years. 4 years ago treatment became a reality, after mother passed away & I grasped it with my heart & soul... I stood on the edge of the abyss, lost & now found. The future is unsure ( but who's is ?) of that we can all be sure...


Now life really begins... One day at a time.

I dedicate this blog to the memory of my Mother Mary and My old Doctor who threw me a lifeline, then got me to treatment, Annabelle M.

I also wish to thank all who work in hepatitis clinics up & down the country, without you we have nothing.

Peace.