Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Husband diagnosed with Hep C in 1998

My husband was diagnosed with hepatitis C over ten years ago (prior to our meeting). He was an intravenous drug user in his youth and was diagnosed with hep C while undergoing an exam for life insurance. At first, he tried the interferon treatments but ended up stopping due to the harsh side effects. He was particularly discouraged by the fact that his fingertips bled.

Throughout the years, I could hardly get him to discuss his disease, let alone go to doctor to ask about treatment. At one point, he had a liver biopsy. I have no idea what those results were except that he had scarring on his liver.

Finally, two years ago he agreed to let me go the gastroenterologist with him. We discussed treatment options and the doctor told us about the new triple therapy that was available. The doctor set us up to attend a class held in their office about the treatment plan. We went to the class and got all of the information.

My husband then proceeded to get an MRI that the doctor ordered and had blood work done. He also got his hepatitis A shots so that all of the requirements for the hepatitis C treatment were met.

Then, he procrastinated a bit. At first, he would barely discuss the treatment and would literally walk away from me whenever I brought it up. His family would ask about it and I had nothing to tell them. He kept saying “after Christmas” and “after summer,” and so on.

Fast forward to the present day. We visited his doctor a few months ago, and the doctor said that my husband really needed to proceed with his treatment. He could not wait for the latest and greatest treatment to be approved.

My husband agreed and the doctor’s office went through the insurance company to get him the medication. His medicine arrived by courier and I have been reading and researching to find out all that I can.

My husband and I decided to start a blog documenting our treatment experiences, not realizing that there were so many already out there, or that Hepmag.com even existed. I have slowly been putting our blog together and am getting geared up to look at this in the most positive light as possible.  

We definitely take the real world approach to writing and we will be documenting our experiences in our blog. We hope that describing what we go through may help someone else in the future, as other blogs are currently helping us. Also, we agreed it would be a great way to keep our friends and family updated on his condition.

My husband and I are incredibly nervous and frightened about what will become of him, us and our family. We hope to make it through this experience with my husband clearing the virus in his body, and hope that he will live a long and healthy life so that we can be together forever!

What three adjectives best describe you?
Anxiety-riddled, emotional, upbeat

What is your greatest achievement?
Children, happy life, happy home

What is your greatest regret?
That my husband used drugs that caused him to get hepatitis C

What keeps you up at night?
Worrying about my husband’s future and my family’s future

If you could change one thing about living with viral hepatitis, what would it be?
That more young people were knowledgeable about how hepatitis C is transmitted, and that more intravenous drug users would take greater precautions

What is the best advice you ever received?
To be strong and carry on

What person in the viral hepatitis community do you most admire?
We enjoy all of the personal stories.

What drives you to do what you do?
My family

What is your motto?
Life each day like it’s your last!

If you had to evacuate your house immediately, what is the one thing you would grab on the way out?
Family

If you could be any animal, what would you be? And why?
A hawk, so I could soar in the skies