do i want to know?

OOOOH, OK...this is why i/we "need" to read it:

"People who live with chronic hepatitis C are sometimes confronted with more than one liver disease. Having an additional liver condition usually means a poorer prognosis. However, some liver diseases are preventable, and although everyone should try to prevent these, this advice is particularly true for those with hepatitis C. "

I know this lady who had Wilson's disease and it got so bad for her that she needed an emergency liver transplant because of it...

Years ago I purchased a book that covered all of the Hepatic disorders and over the years it's been a very good reference book to have on hand... Although when I first started reading it, I knew immediately that I had to educate myself on all of the unfamiliar terminology being used in it... I'm still learning and I have had this book for close to 20 years now!

This link is a very good short and concise set of generalized descriptions of the most widely known Hepatic disorders or liver diseases, and I like the fact that they covered them alphabetically... Nice find Kramer!

Respectfully,
Henry

Thanks Henry..who knew? As always good to be aware!

I have a friend on home hospice with end stage autoimmune liver disease. She had it 30 years and did well.

This is my long time friend Debbie Delgado who started the first organization to advocate for Latinos and to educate them to become aware of the various liver diseases many did not know about, and she was diagnosed with Autoimmune Hepatitis also, and has since been very fortunate to receive two liver transplants and continued even after all of what she went through to be a powerful and influential force in the Latino community with respect to liver diseases and Hepatitis C...

Debbie had what was considered at the time a rare and very hard to treat disorder of her immune system, and yet nothing could stop her
From completing her mission and she dedicated her life in doing so.
I only wish I had half of the strength this woman has because she is truly one awesome lady and is a very loyal friend of mine who I have had the honor to know for over twenty years! Debbie was like a "Timex" watch - She takes a licking (beating) and still keeps on ticking!!! And like everything else her "Timex" stopped ticking. :>(

I remember when I first met her @ the world trade center in one of her first meetings she held so that she could unite various advocacy groups of the NYC metro area as well as introducing her cause to patients, medical professionals, politicians regarding the most prevalent liver diseases, but more specifically emphasizing the lack of educating underserved populations about hepatitis C at the time who for some were unable to understand all of the technical, potential severity of the disease and it's nuances, and terms regarding HCV & other liver diseases and it was a very good turn out indeed!

A deputy mayor, and a congressman and even a senator attended and there were quite a few nurses, doctors & hepatologists, liver transplant surgeons & doctors, representatives of the American liver foundation as well as other advocacy groups and plenty of individuals who were or had been suffering from liver disease...

It turned out to be very educational for me as well as for many other folks who attended that meeting and a lot of movement in advocacy was started as a result of it for the Latino/Hispanic community and it connected the influential people to the cause as well as presenting to some in attendance with medical professionals and experts in HCV who previously were unaware of and that alone made it a success!!!

A few years after my transplant, I went back to NYC to pay her a visit in the Bronx only to find out from her sister that she was in a coma and her prognosis didn't look good at all because her body was brutally rejecting her transplanted liver! There were a few times when I thought Debbie wasn't going to pull through but, she did which is a testament to her strength and willingness to live a life so that she could continue her mission of spreading through education and advocacy liver disease awareness in the latino community...

And then sadly and suddenly - this past summer in July -
Debbie Delgado Vega passed away and took her place as another angel in heaven... A truly was a remarkable lady!!! RIP Mi Angela.

Here are some links about her and her service:

http://organdonor.gov/lifestories/lifedelgadovega.html

http://www.accesscaretoday.com/news_events/debbie-delgado-vega/

http://bronx.news12.com/news/funeral-held-for-debbie-delgado-vega-founder-of-latino-organization-for-liver-awareness-1.5712773

This was one of many different projects she started and her story is on page 10 of 15 in this .pdf:

http://georgiadotyhivandhepatitisinc.org/resources_files/finalsmHepCHIVHEALTH%20%282%29-1.pdf

I miss her so so much. :>( Still, she will always be in my heart.

Respectfully,
Henry

I apologize for going a bit sort of off topic. *{(;>)}~

Respectfully,
Hank