Hepatitis C Support Group
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne viral disease which can cause liver inflammation, fibrosis, cirrhosis and liver cancer. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is spread by blood-to-blood contact with an infected person's blood. Many people with HCV infection have no symptoms and are unaware of the need to seek treatment. Hepatitis C infects an estimated 150-200 million people worldwide.
This is by Rynn Williams, from her book Adonis Garage. She died young, but not from HCV
Hep C
On West 24th I uncovered my anger.
Raw brick and batten, three flights up
with a great view of nowhere, it was there
I pulled my hard little chair to the wall,
went unshowered for weeks, shrank from all mirrors,
where I spit on the floor, learned to love a straight razor,
me with my sleeve rolled up past my elbow, my peppermints
and my parochial skirt, my fingerless gloves and my dented spoon.
This was years before my liver renounced me - solid, shapeless slug
that sucked everything up like a sex-starved chaperone,
bloodbuddy with everyone in our nasty little neighborhood,
my royal big sister, ponderous watchdog -
enraged at having had to live my life.
Hep C
On West 24th I uncovered my anger.
Raw brick and batten, three flights up
with a great view of nowhere, it was there
I pulled my hard little chair to the wall,
went unshowered for weeks, shrank from all mirrors,
where I spit on the floor, learned to love a straight razor,
me with my sleeve rolled up past my elbow, my peppermints
and my parochial skirt, my fingerless gloves and my dented spoon.
This was years before my liver renounced me - solid, shapeless slug
that sucked everything up like a sex-starved chaperone,
bloodbuddy with everyone in our nasty little neighborhood,
my royal big sister, ponderous watchdog -
enraged at having had to live my life.
it's dark but it's still art
Not even one about Hep C.
A row of bottles on my shelf
Caused me to analyze myself.
One yellow pill I have to pop
Goes to my heart so it won't stop.
A little white one that I take
Goes to my hands so they won't shake.
The blue ones that I use a lot
Tell me I'm happy when I'm not.
The purple pill goes to my brain
And tells me that I have no pain.
The capsules tell me not to wheeze
Or cough or choke or even sneeze.
The red ones, smallest of them all
Go to my blood so I won't fall.
The orange ones, very big and bright
Prevent my leg cramps in the night.
Such an array of brilliant pills
Helping to cure all kinds of ills.
But what I'd really like to know...
Is what tells each one where to go!
Thank you for checking in. It's nice to be supported that way. I'm not depressed -- my tx is altrnative; the only negative side effects are to my bank balance. I have over the years felt awful about the hiding and stigma associated w/Hep C, so I was thrilled to see a poet address the subject. She's the only artist in any medium that I'd known used HCV as a subject. I remember the firsts about other things -- like when Betty Ford admitted she had breast cancer. Or was it addiction? Or both. Anyway, I'm just moved by RW being "out" about her HCV.