Five years ago on Thanksgiving, I was watching the football game with my family when my aunt told me that I had received a letter. It was from MetLife, a health insurance company which I had applied for a few months earlier. It was a big surprise when I opened the letter and found out that my application was denied. The letter that accompanied the lab results was strange. I was told that because of my grave medical condition, not now nor at anytime in the future, would they consider me for insurance.

They further informed that I should seek prompt medical attention. Along with the letter, I received a sheet of paper with numbers from the lab results of the blood test they required for application. A few weeks later, I got a bad cold and upper respiratory infection. Since I had no insurance, I decided that the best idea for taking care of my health was self-medication. I took cold remedies and aspirin to alleviate the pain and symptoms. This infection would not go away, it was beyond all I had tried. Finally, I went to the doctor for his advice. While I was in his office, I decided it was an opportune time to tell him of the letter MetLife had sent me. He looked at the paper with the lab results and asked how I had been feeling. I told him that my health had been good. He informed me to be on the safe side that he wanted to order some lab tests. He made arrangements for me to take the tests in that week. He ordered a Complete Blood Count (CBC) and a liver profile. It would be a week before I he would have the results of these tests. He made me an appointment for a week in advance before I left his office.

I went to his office a week later to have the results of the test read to me. He told me there was a little abnormality in the results of the tests. There were three liver enzymes he was concerned with. The normal level for these three enzymes was 40. A number higher than 40 is considered abnormal. One of the levels was 230, another was 265, and the last was 160. He told me these numbers were extremely high and needed immediate attention. He informed me I was not to consume alcohol, egg products, or to travel to Mexico. Then he told me that I had to go see a specialist, a doctor of gastrointestinal disorders. I had never heard of this kind of doctor before this day. I had an appointment later in that week with the Gastroenterologist. I had such a bad experience in his office. I was totally traumatized. After looking at the original paper the insurance company sent me, the doctor based his decision. He told me,"You have AIDS." This, I found out later, was incorrect. He further recommended me to another doctor. I left his office in tears. It took about a week for me to recover from the shock he imparted on me.

My next office visit was to the new doctor, to examine all of the medical work that my family doctor had ordered and the gastrointestinal doctor had ignored. I told him of the news the gastrointestinal doctor had told me. The new doctor told me that what I had was not AIDS. He informed me that what I had was hepatitis. It was a new type of hepatitis. I had the distinction of having a disease that was not even classified as a type. It was known in those days as Hepatitis Non-A, Non-B.

The doctors' advice to me was simple. He suggested for me to lay off of the alcohol, undercooked egg products, and no trips to Mexico, because of the problem with cleanliness. He advised me that there was a threat of transmitting the disease through sexual contact. He also told me that the disease had been passed to me through either a casual or sexual contact from a carrier, undercooked egg products, or dysentery, contracted through the poor health practices of people in Mexico. He asked me to come back in 10 months. He told me there was an inoculation that anyone I lived with could take, to help prevent him or her from catching it through casual contact.

I returned to the doctor in 10 months. He told me that the enzyme levels were almost back to normal. There was very little threat to me now. He suggested that I regulate my alcohol intake to small amounts, for the next year. After this visit, I decided it was just a bad scare. I interpreted this to mean that I would be all right after a period of time. I continued with life as usual.

Recently, I met with a new doctor that would inform me about the disease, that had invaded my body. The hepatitis I contracted so many years ago now had a name. It was now known as Hepatitis C (HCV). The doctor began to educate me on the dangers of the disease I had long forgotten. The HCV was a disease that the medical community was just learning to deal with. Since it had not been diagnosed in the past, it had gone undetected within many people for many years. She told me it was now coming to light. The HCV is a virus that is slow at fulfilling the destiny of its nature. The course of the virus is to alter the cells in ones' body. It is a virus that attacks the liver cells and kills them as it multiplies. As the process progresses, it causes liver inflammation and kills the cells of the liver. The incubation of the virus is 2 to 26 weeks. The symptoms one might acquire are very much like the flu. So it goes undetected by the people who are infected. The disease can progress during a period of 10 to 40 years. It is the leading cause of liver transplants in the United States today. It is estimated that as many as 10,000 Americans a year die of complications with the virus. Some of the people who have the HCV will progress to a condition of cirrhosis of the liver. This is the eventual breakdown of the liver to critical levels with the threat of death.

I have learned to deal with many of the problems that this disease causes. I hope that by writing this story it will educate people and let them know what to look for, if they have the unfortunate luck of contracting this illness.

Anonymous