Ever since I found out I have Hep C it’s amazing the amount of people I have spoken to who have it. An old friend heard about it and called me. I never knew he had the disease. He was diagnosed in l992. He was on the interferon for 3 months and took himself off of it because of the awful side effects. He said it was altering his personality and couldn’t function at work. This is not encouraging!
I am a very rich woman. I am rich in the fullness of wonderful family, friends and incredible Pastoral leadership. He and his wife are 2 of the most amazing, accessible and loving people to enrich my life. They all are there for me night and day. All would help me no matter what my need is. I have an email list of numerous friends who I periodically update on what is happening and are standing by me with prayers and encouragement.
I love to watch Extreme Makeover and don’t you know the family they were building for had lost their husband and father to Hep C. He was just skin and bones before he passed away. That put me in whirlwind and a pile of tears yet again.
I was scheduled for an ultra sound of my liver on 12/9 and called and asked to have it moved up to 12/3. I had to know the results asap. When I did go as soon as the tech started I started to cry. I have never cried so much as I have over all of this. I was notified that it came back normal. Hmm, this seemed encouraging, or so I thought.
I had told my family and friends, but not my co-workers. I'm not quite sure why I was apprehensive about telling them. I internalized all of this at work and could think of little else. How am I going to work? How much work would I miss? I was petrified of the side effects and being single and dealing with this alone was over whelming me.
Psalm 77:14 “You are the God of miracles and wonders! You still demonstrate your awesome power”. I have always been remarkably healthy. Please God let not these meds make me sick. Let not this awful disease rob me of my life.
I told my supervisor that I had this disease and we talked about me filling out the paper work for the Family Medical Leave (FMLA) which would secure my job for a year. At least that gave me some sense of security. She gave me the papers to take home and fill out and as I was reading, it jumped out at me that you were eligible if you had been employed for the minimum of 1 year. I had been there 3 months and therefore it was not for me. Now the fear was getting a tighter grip on me….
Thanks for stopping by and until next time….I stand still on the still waters. Diane