About 13 months ago.....
My life was going great, finally...
I went back to college at age 47 and got my degree in Medical Billing and Coding, (magna cum laude!!!) got a decent job right away, and then after 18 months got a wonderful job as the Medical Coder for a Medical Health Center, coding for 6 doctors!
I began having chest pains and GI problems in February of 2008, so was checked out by one of the doctors, and my liver enzymes were very high, so they did a hep panel on me, which came back positive.
Five days later, I was terminated, they said that my work was substandard, and was excorted back to my office to clear it out, and escorted out of the clinic like I was some sort of criminal! This was all bullshit, of course, cuz the Chief Officer of Operations was in my office only the day before, telling me that they were soooo happy with me, and any problems that I had will the Hep C virus, their doctors were available to me.
So there I was, lost medical insurance coverage, (could not afford COBRA), so had to cancel the liver biopsy that had been scheduled, and I still have not had one, and the biopsy must be done before any treatment can begin to try and fight this silent killer!
There are no agencies in Alabama to help, and I have been turned down for Medicaid, (yes, our wonderful government sux) I was referred to Georgia Chapter of American Liver Foundation, (there is not one in this state) and they were no help either... gave me the names of 2 doctors in Mobile, one of whom no longer sees HepC patients, the other does not see patients with no insurance!
So here I sit, trying to figure out what the hell to do...
thanks for letting me vent, and if you want to know more about Hep C, please ask, read this blog's entries, and those on my personal page.
One thing that you should know...
A hepatitis panel is not usually done unless you request one, and the doctor will tell you that it is not necessary....
That is what I was told for years, even though my husband had HepC when he passed in 1999, and my liver enzyme levels had been extremely high for many, many years!
200 MILLION people worldwide have Hep C, compare that to 25 million with HIV/AIDS! So why is there no help for us?
There are treatments that work for some (about 50%), but THERE IS NO CURE!!!
DEMAND TO BE TESTED! ONE IN TWELVE PEOPLE HAVE HEP C....DO YOU REALLY WANT TO TAKE A CHANCE?
If you know 60 people, 5 of them have Hep C.... 
