It’s been a long journey. In the beginning, 17 - 18 years ago, I returned with my wife and 2 year old boy from a year of travel, mostly in Asia. After returning, my general practitioner told me I had Hepatitis C. Up until that time, and for a good while afterwards, I felt fine, great, strong, athletic, even though I’d contracted the liver-damaging virus 20 years earlier. I had long ago, and pretty easily, left that destructive lifestyle behind me, and began to construct my adult life of serving children, in youth camps, coaching, and teaching elementary school.

Unfortunately, the earlier times of partying had left a calling card. Blood had mixed, some of which was, apparently, tainted with the virus we know now as Hepatitis C. And, when this virus, which kills more people worldwide than HIV/AIDS, begins its assault on the liver, it is, to say the least, a challenge.

My liver, once the assault finally began, decades after being exposed, became compromised quickly. Cirrhosis marched forward, and I became bloated, weak, sleepless, cold, and unpleasant to be around. I began the first of what would become two drug treatments that had low success rates and brutal side effects. The first round of treatments failed, and I fell into the large group of people who had no luck with treatments. I was weak, bloated, grumpy, sleep deprived, lacking in energy and strength, and quite sick. Eventually I received a liver transplant, from a live donor, my loving little sister.

The transplant, however, had some complications, and I still had hepatitis. After some ups but mostly downs, I began the second round of hepatitis treatments of ribavirin and interferon. The side effects were even worse the second time, and after 4 months I was not sleeping at all, my hands were shaking so badly I couldn’t even dial the phone. I had a build up of ammonia in my bloodstream that impaired my brain functions. I was, overall, pretty much a mess.

We stopped the meds, and I was placed on the liver transplant list again. It was at about that time that I began to more actively access the yoga teachings I had studied, visited an energy healer in Brazil, and began a holistic healing journey that took me in many directions. Over time, this led to great progress and significantly improved my energy, vibrancy, and liver health.

Click here to read the full blog entry on Starr Wellness Coaching.