A GOOD DAY INDEED

Today is truly a day of celebration for me in a very personal way. I normally wouldn't advertise this sort of milestone in my life but I feel that it is important for me to share my experience in the hopes that it may help someone in some way.

Four years ago I was diagnosed with a liver disease called Hepatitis C. If you would like more information on this you can click here.
It took a long time for me to process and accept that I had this illness so like a good queen of denial I did nothing about it.

When I got pregnant with my daughter in 2006, I was forced to deal with the issue again. My liver had started failing and I was labeled a "high risk" pregnancy. After my daughter was born I made the big, scary decision to try to get treatment for this. I went for my consultation with the specialist and after numerous blood tests my doctor informed me that my liver was not functioning on any sort of normal level and "I don't know how you are standing right now."

So here I was. A brand new mother and running the risk that I wouldn't get to see my daughter grow up because I was irresponsible and selfish. I started the painstaking process of being accepted through a pharmaceutical company to receive the medicine I needed, seeing as how I didn't have health insurance and this country is seriously lacking in that department. Much to my surprise, I was accepted to receive this medicine for free, which otherwise would have cost $3000 a month.

February 22, 2008 I began treatment which consisted of taking four pills a day and giving myself a shot in the stomach once a week. Side effects from this varied from headaches to mental breakdowns. Nausea to weight loss. There were times when the thought of stopping all together crossed my mind but then I would look at my daughter and that thought would quickly pass.

Today marks the six month period in this treatment and I am happy to say it is my last day of shot/pills. I am also happy to report that this disease is no longer detectable in my system. My daughter, who also was born with this, has been given a clean bill of health by her pediatrician. Her little immune system fought it off and now she has the gift of being able to live a full and long life.

The lesson in all of this is don't ignore what is right in front of you. Don't assume that things go away just because you want them to. There comes a time in life when you have to step up to the plate and take responsibility for yourself so you can have the opportunity to lead a "normal" life, whatever that is.

I heard something really great last night. "You deserve what you allow." Meaning; If you allow yourself to be sick, than you deserve to be. That saying can be applied to any aspect of life. If you allow someone to change you, than you deserve to be changed. If you allow yourself to be taken advantage of, than you deserve it.

Today, more than ever, I deserve the best and that is the only thing I will allow.

If you would like more information on the drugs that helped save my life than click here

And...if you would like more information on what I think really played a part in my miraculous turn-around than click here