Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Day 36, Undetected (Dragon Slain)

After 4 weeks of therapy, it all has come down to this one moment, this breath of fresh air. Waiting patiently in the examination room, I was praying to God, listening to Coldplay's new Midnight track on YouTube and just lifting up God's amazing power.
It was in that moment the rustling of papers at the door distracted my silent moment of worship as my doctor entered the room. Not reading my results yet, we both sat down and first went over my basic CBC and liver functions, all of which are normal range. Then, as my doctor turned to the next page, she chuckled, and just said, "Wow, that's just amazing!" It was that moment that I realized the outcome and the grueling past 5 weeks of therapy have not been in vain, that my dragon was slain, my giant was overcome and the cloud of gloom lifted from my head. No longer do I live in the shadow of the human struggle to fear one's own mortality from complications stemming from HCV. The journey is winding down, 4 and a half months left of therapy, and this beast will be slaughtered into an oblivion.

I am officially undetected of the virus after 4 weeks. That means there is 0% of the Hepatitis C (HCV) in my blood samples. Not only is the is stellar news, but also means that I had a rapid virologic response (RVR) to the therapy, which results in an even more increased chance of cure above the already 92% with just the standard therapy. Click on the image to the right to view the larger version of the actual lab work analysis. The HCV RNA is the virus itself, and the result is showing below 15 copies, which is how far modern day testing can measure to. This is astounding, and the work of a mighty God who is always in control of our lives, regardless of good news or bad. This blood test proves that not only miracles do happen in modern day, but just adds volumes to the power of the living God, and what can be done if one simply surrenders all to Him. I still am not praying for a cure, although there is nothing wrong with that to pray to be cured.

Therapy continues until the duration is complete. My HCV viral load will be checked again at week 12, week 24 (end of therapy) and 6 months post, then one year afterwards. This is not my story, I'm just the vessel, it's all God and his craftsmanship. I am his artwork, his sculpture and painting, likened in His own image. I humbly bow, worshiping Him, glorifying His name. Rest assured, I'm still blogging through the duration of this therapy, documenting my highs, and lows, so I'm not going ANYWHERE! Ya' Here!?

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