Karen Hoyt is a blogger who has a story about hepatitis C, cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease, liver cancer, and liver transplantation. This excerpt first appeared on Karen’s I Help C blog.

Waiting is painful, especially when you don’t know what’s happening next. You feel stuck in No Man’s Land. It leads to a mental funk, spiraling depression, and despair. When I had Hep C, and my liver was inflamed and injured, sometimes I wanted to quit. We grow tired of waiting to get better, or get good news. We may throw a pity party. Next we get everything out on the table. Then we can look for ways survive while we hanging out in limbo with liver disease.

Face the Truth – First of all, try letting all of your emotions out. Cry, kick, scream, whine, and moan. I’m a believer in going through all the stages of grief, starting with denial.

Do You Have to Let it Linger – Try not to languish for too long during the hateful and pouty stage. It doesn’t help. Instead, fast forward to the fact things are going to be different around here from now on.

I personally think everything can get better.


Between the Now and the Not Yet is a space where you get to take a long look at the “right now”. It seems like we humans are always trying to wiggle out of something or into something. We are not quite happy where we are – until a disaster hits – like liver disease. Then we get all shook and worry about the future or the past. I’m an optimist and always always look for the better. It keeps me from being bitter.

Right Here Right Now you can just sit with yourself and have some compassion. You have been given a tough row to hoe. Here are some things to meditate on while you wait.

Click here to read the rest of Karen’s blog, including her thoughts on:

  • Waiting for Treatment
  • Waiting for Tests Results
  • Waiting to Feel Better