My Story
H
epatitis SA peer educator Penni Moore lives well with hepatitis C.
transmission and I was careful, so I don`t know for certain how I got it.
“I’ve been hepatitis C positive for over 15 years, and I still feel relatively fine.” said Penni. “Even after such a long time, I still have a low viral load and no scarring on my liver. I don’t have many symptoms, apart from occasional aching joints, and lately, exhaustion.
“Reading about hepatitis C initially did freak me out as some of the details of the virus can sound pretty dreadful but since I felt fairly normal because I didn’t have many symptoms, I just went on with my life. I still had to adopt certain lifestyle practices, to make sure that I didn’t transmit it to anyone else.”
“I can’t have much alcohol or rage as much as I used to, because I’d feel horribly sick after that. I also feel ghastly after eating greasy and fatty foods so I just try to have a healthy diet as much as possible.”
Pre-natal test “I found out I had hepatitis C while I was in hospital for the birth of my daughter. It was picked up through a routine pre-natal blood test,” she remembered. “My kids’ dad had hepatitis C, so I had some information about it from the local clean needle programs. I was really surprised that I got it, as I wasn’t sick. I knew about
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When Penni’s kids turned two, she had them tested for hepatitis C as well. “Luckily they both tested negative for the virus, which was a huge relief for me,” she said. “I would have been heart-broken if they were positive. I would have felt guilty for the rest of my life.” Penni’s work as a peer educator at Hepatitis SA contributes to her sense of well being. “We go out and talk to people who have hepatitis C or are at risk of getting hepatitis C,” she explained. “I find it great to be able to do work where I can just be myself. It’s a positive, worthwhile thing to do.
Fulfilling “It’s good not to have to compromise myself. Sometimes, the job can be difficult, as sometimes people just do not listen, and do not want to accept help, but I try my best. I hope to keep doing this job, as I find it very fulfilling.”
C. Lim / Hepatitis SA
Getting on with Life
Although her health is good, Penni nonetheless keeps treatment in view. “I always wished I’d be one of those people that could get rid of it naturally,” she said. Peni’s hepatitis C virus didn’t clear naturally but she has a “pretty diligent” doctor who gets her to investigate treatment options because she’s had hepatitis C for such a long time. “I found that for my genotype, the treatment would last a year and I’d have a 55 per cent chance of success,” she said. Because she was afraid she might be too sick from the side-effects to continue working during treatment, Penni decided not to embark on it.
• HEPATITIS SA COMMUNITY NEWS • APR 2013
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18/03/2013 12:32:29 PM