Health updates.

[Mengxia Yu]

I have Hepatitis C. I got it from having multiple blood transfusions when I was first born.

I do not get to find out what type of Hepatitis C I have and whether or not it can be cured until after Nativity.

I do not get to find out how much damage has already been done to my liver until at least a month after that.

[Sushuri Madonna]

I shall be praying for you, dear Yu-chei.

[Niami]

I will be as well, Miss Yu.

[Minami Kohime]

Oh, dear... what sad news to receive with Nativity almost knocking on our windows.

I shall also be praying for you. And I am sorry if I am saying something strange or rude here, but I do hope that this news at least helps your family to spend a more peaceful holiday, with less stressful situations.

We love you and will pray that the news after nativity will be the best possible ones!

[Minako Farshore]

You have all my love and prayers, dear Yu-chei, and the prayers of my Tellurian family as well. *sends you many hugs*

[Candace Bethune]

Oh, poor Yu-chei! I am so sorry to hear this news, and right before Nativity.

I will tell you that my closest friend had Hepatitis C as well, and she went through about 14 months of chemotherapy for it. She had the hardest kind to treat, and yet she came through it with a viral load of absolutely zero! It has been almost 6 months, and she is still completely virus free. So I know first hand that this disease can be treated successfully, even in the most extreme cases.

I don't know if that is of any comfort, but I hope that you will find some peace during the Nativity season, and be assured that the thoughts and prayers of many are with you.

[Charlotte Laraway]

Dear Miss Yu, you will be in my prayers!

[Mengxia Yu]

Thank you all!

I also know a maid who had genotype 1 and is at a viral load of zero now. It makes me hopeful--but my doctor said that the statistics for that are about one in two.

My mother managed to get me and my sister appointments for liver biopsies on Monday. Now we'll only have to wait until the 28th to find out how much damage we have.

[Mengxia Yu]

I have just gotten back from the doctor and gone straight to my ordie.
My sister and I have pretty much the same results, just different viral loads.

I have Hepatitis C, type 1B. This is the most common kind and the most difficult to treat.
My liver is inflamed, but I do not yet have any scarring/fibrosis.
I have about a 50% chance of getting better if I decide to treat it.

If I wait a year or two, then there will be a new generation of drugs that will raise my chances of getting better. However, I will be off my parents' insurance in a year or two, and when I get my own insurance they will not cover anything related to my Hepatitis C because it is a pre-existing condition. I will not be able to pay for treatment without insurance, so it looks like I don't have much choice but to start in January and hope it works.

[Jullianna Juliesse]

Meimei:

I don't know what to say that will ease your mind.

It is good news that you don't have liver damage, but bad news that you have the most difficult form of the disease to treat, and that your treatment decisions must be dictated by insurance issues. Needless to say, you are constantly in my prayers, if that helps you in any way. Please know that I am here for you, and that I love you.

Your sister,
Jiejie