I had heard that when Harvoni, along with, in my case, ribavirin, clear the bloodstream, I’d immediately feel better. Yep, it’s true.
My energy surged forward five weeks ago, and I have been delighted to return to old patterns with my wife and teenager, and to be able to work with a personal trainer at the gym to build muscle back what had atrophied over the years. I’m stacking wood, putting heavy onion loads to the root cellar, composting my garden by the shovelful, and just getting it all back to a level that I almost forgot even existed.
Casting shadows on my cheery dance though, is the 3-month window of waiting to see if I relapse, and the virus returns. One month is done, so only two more remain.
These shadows are there, but I won’t let them cloud my feeling of luck to receive this new medicine. I’ll take what I have now, after all the struggles with hepatitis, my liver transplant, and associated complications, and keep my strategies in place as I move along.
One of the keys, maybe the key to my emotional steadiness and quick return to strength, is beyond being off the medicine and it’s connected side effect of lethargy. It is the consistent work I’ve done, and that you can do too.
Without going into detail (which I’m glad to share if you want to contact me), I have developed strategies that target my liver health, like great nutrition; exercise as tolerated; getting outdoors to connect my life to all the life and beauty in nature; yoga and meditation; asking for help when needed; and following my passions of reading, writing, gardening, and more.
Those are strategies that work for me. Yours, if you want to take control of your healing and your life, will be different. Whatever strategies fit you, be dedicated to them. You might need help to develop your strategies.
Help yourself, and if you are on Harvoni or other hepatitis medicine, help your body to embrace them and work more deeply.
Some of the strategies I mention are important for all of us, and some are more tailored to me. Nutrition, movement on a yoga mat or a woodland trail, and asking for help sometimes are for us all.
Integrate life to help heal your Body, Mind, and Spirit. Living with positive actions through tested strategies will put you in a position where, no matter what happens, your appreciation for living grows.
You can’t lose.
The sun shines through the clouds and shadows are wispy as we dedicate ourselves to actions that help us reach for our purpose in this life, and to Love the Life we Live.
Matt
Two more months of no virus will lead us to a giant kale, green smoothie and a cranking stereo dance party here on our Vermont farm. Want to come?
Prayers and best of luck to you on you journey, and to all those who suffer from disease.
1 Comment
1 Comment