Chances are you are stumbling across this article because you were searching for information on Hepatitis C. I can tell you that I have been where you are at. I know firsthand what it is like to live with this potentially fatal chronic illness.
A year ago, I was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. To most people I hardly look like someone who would have this disease. But I am here to tell you that there are many faces of Hepatitis C. The old stigma that only drug addicts and prostitutes get diseases like this is totally false. I am a 25 year old mother of 2 little girls. I hold a college degree in Elementary Education. Never once have I touched drugs or slept around.
I know what it feels like to be treated unfairly and discriminated against. I know what it is like when people don't take you seriously. I know what it is like to have this illness and to feel like no one understands the physical and emotional pain that consumes you at times. I know what it is like to feel afraid of things that you are afraid to even mention to anyone.
That is what needs to change. People need to be able to talk openly about their feelings to others that understand. We need to quit hiding in the closet being afraid of what those self righteous people out there might say or think about us. It doesn't matter how you got the disease. What matters is how you deal with it. What matters is finding the support you need to carry on. That can be hard sometimes. I have even had family members and friends accuse me of being a hypochondriac. My brother told me that I was making up my symptoms. That really hurt me and made me angry.
If you have hepatitis C or you know someone who has it, take heart. There are people out there who won't judge you. I am one of them. It really makes me angry that the people who should love us the most can be so judgmental sometimes. I would love to hear in comments from some of you out there that are going through this too. Take care of yourself and know that God really does care.
