Loving Someone Through Hepatitis C

When someone is diagnosed with hepatitis C, it affects more than the patient, it affects those we love as well. Diagnosis is the starting point of the journey, but one of the best gifts a patient can receive is others loving them through it.

Love and support help make the load lighter; It certainly did for me. In the early days (when there was no cure and limited treatment), it was hard. Love and support are beyond valuable. It’s like a soothing balm; Fresh wind for a tired soul that renews energy and strength to keep going.

My journey

I was not alone in my journey. I was blessed to be surrounded by many who cared and lifted me up daily in their thoughts and prayers. Never underestimate the power of love and prayers. It has a powerful impact- physically, mentally, and emotionally- that patients need. God works in mighty ways through them.

Many physically came along beside me and loved me through hepatitis C. They were my angels without wings, God sent to help me through this difficult time. They were my “cavalry”, who rode in and scooped me up when I was losing ground.

What a huge comfort and difference it made to have people come along beside me and help me when I felt out of strength. They were love in action. My hepatitis C journey was lighter because of them.

My heartfelt love and gratitude go out to them for coming to my rescue and loving me through it.

If someone you know has hepatitis C and you don’t know what to say or do to help, know this, the greatest gift anyone can receive is love and support.

Ways to help

Here are some other ways to help support a friend or loved one through hepatitis C:

• Call and ask if they feel up to a short visit or if they’d like to go somewhere.
• Ask if you can take them to their next doctor’s appointment or for tests.
• Call and check on them.
• Call them and let them know you're going to the grocery store and ask if they need anything or can you pick something up while you're out.
• Send cards.
• Take a meal.
• Pray for them and ask them if they have a specific prayer need.
• You may not know what to say, but just being there to love on them goes beyond what words could ever express.
• Help them celebrate a victory when they receive a good test report or finish a bottle/box of treatment meds. Cheer them on.

The power of support

For me personally, I felt blessed to be surrounded folks whom I called, “Jesus with skin on”, who God worked through to help me through my journey with hepatitis C. Those same folks who were with me at the beginning of the journey when I was diagnosed were with me at the end of the journey (20 years and 3 treatments later). They gave me a celebration party the day my last treatment ended, and I was pronounced cured. There were lots of happy tears and endless hugs, that boosted my tired body through recovery and onto a new life.

For the cavalry angels in my life, well, I still see the glow of their halo’s and my heart overflows with love for each of them. For those who have been cured from hepatitis C, we’re no longer patients. We can, in turn, become the cavalry for someone else. Pay it forward, and love someone else through hepatitis C.