When Antonio Gonzalez was diagnosed with hepatitis C in Geneva, Switzerland, doctors told him if he didn't get a new liver within five years, he didn't stand a chance at a long life. As he waited for a new liver, Gonzalez thought about all the moments he'd miss. He wanted to be around for his son's graduation.
Gonzalez hadn't even heard of hepatitis C when he was diagnosed, and didn't know how he got it. A Native American and member of the Comcáac nation, he surmised that he was probably infected with hepatitis C while fighting in Vietnam, where he suffered from many major open wounds.
While he was sick, Gonzalez put together a box of things that people could remember him by after he passed away. When he finally got his liver transplant in 2005, he was able to unpack the box and begin living again. "So beautiful to receive a liver and to unpack, like, 'I'm not going anywhere!'" he said.
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Showing posts with label Native Amercans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Native Amercans. Show all posts
Monday, August 17, 2015
Friday, May 1, 2015
Hepatitis C, HIV hits American Indians at high rate in Minnesota
DULUTH, Minn. — The rate of hepatitis C among American Indians in Minnesota is “terrifyingly higher” than for other racial and ethnic groups, a state epidemiologist said on Thursday. The occasion was the Health Department’s annual release of data for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis A, B and C in Minnesota.
The chronic liver disease — a virus that’s often abbreviated as HCV — also is seen at a relatively high rate outside of the Twin Cities metro area, said Kristin Sweet of the Minnesota Department of Health.
“A lot of people think hepatitis C is an urban issue,” Sweet said. “Our data do not hold to that.”
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Friday, January 23, 2015
Native AIDS Survivor, Activist Runs Marathon: ‘We CAN Run Marathons too’
On January 18, 2015, I completed my first full marathon in Phoenix. It wasn’t easy because statistics told me Natives have the shortest life span after HIV infection.
Back in 2002 when I was diagnosed with HIV and Hepatitis C in Phoenix, my health was at a border between HIV and AIDS. I was immediately taken to a Native AIDS support group. To this day, I am the only one from that group who is still alive.
Born and raised on the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona, I never thought a tribal would get AIDS. Education was extremely limited about the virus. Rumors were rampant when the virus was discovered, and I remember looking for red or purple spots on my body thinking it was Kaposi’s Sarcoma, a disease AIDS patients got in the early days.
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/01/23/native-aids-survivor-activist-runs-marathon-we-can-run-marathons-too-158837
Back in 2002 when I was diagnosed with HIV and Hepatitis C in Phoenix, my health was at a border between HIV and AIDS. I was immediately taken to a Native AIDS support group. To this day, I am the only one from that group who is still alive.
Born and raised on the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona, I never thought a tribal would get AIDS. Education was extremely limited about the virus. Rumors were rampant when the virus was discovered, and I remember looking for red or purple spots on my body thinking it was Kaposi’s Sarcoma, a disease AIDS patients got in the early days.
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/01/23/native-aids-survivor-activist-runs-marathon-we-can-run-marathons-too-158837
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