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My Biggest Regrets With Hepatitis C

We all have things we wish had never happened. Looking back at over my life, I feel a fist punch in my gut when certain memories pop up.

Some things were not my fault. Nobody has power over every situation. My biggest regrets with hep C are things that I never thought would happen to me.

My biggest regret

When I was a little kid, life was getting up every day and doing things most children do. I went to school. I knew every street in my neighborhood and who lived there. When I was bored, finding a friend to play with was easy.

I ate at other kids' houses. They were like family. My friends came to my house too and spent the night a lot.

Even though I still lived in the neighborhood, my friend group expanded in high school. There were a lot of smaller schools that poured into a bigger city school. My childhood friends drifted away, and new friends took their place.

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After a semester at university, I started working in a hospital. I was so proud to be a certified nurse assistant and enrolled in nursing school. Soon, I had an even bigger set of friends.

After getting married and having my daughter, life got really busy. I had nagging health problems but never knew exactly why. The doctors couldn’t pin it down. Not pressing for more answers is one of my biggest regrets with hep C.

I was using caffeine to stay awake and get things done. Sometimes, my heart would race, but I felt very tired. I pushed even harder.

I smoked cigarettes to keep my energy up. Many days, drinking soda and smoking were my body’s fuel.

I had never lived in another body, so I didn’t know what health felt like. Another of my biggest regrets is not taking better care of my body.

Pushing myself

I actually went to a medical school library searching for answers. I wrote many pages of notes. Another one of my biggest regrets is that there was not even a name for hep C. It was called Non-A or B.

I envied people who had regular, healthy bodies. I was infertile and battled fatigue. My doctors thought I was a hypochondriac. I was always asking for blood work or complaining about fatigue.

When bruises appeared on my body, I just ignored them and pushed myself to keep going. Soon, my ability to sleep or stay alert grew worse.

It took me longer to do just about everything. I ate as healthy as possible, but in the end, my biggest regret is that I was not diagnosed sooner.

My liver totally failed before I could be treated. I was finally cured, but I got liver cancer because of hep C

Today, I am thankful for a liver transplant. I’m finally living a healthy life. Thanks to medical science, I can spend the rest of my life getting over past regrets.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The HepatitisC.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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