Today, My Life Changed Forever

It's pretty astonishing to think about it, and I'm still attempting to process the real scope of things surrounding the past year of my life.

On January 21st, 2014 I began a journey that would ultimately change my life forever, I treated my Hepatitis C with a new breakthrough drug called Sovaldi. Rapidly within 4 weeks of therapy, my virus went undetected, indicating that treatment was working and I was on my way to 20 more weeks of medication, lab work, doctor visits and a plethora of side effects. By the end of treatment on July 7th, 2014, I was still undetected and on my way to hopes of a possible cure.

My infectious disease doctor told me treating with Sovaldi and Ribavirin, I stood an astounding 94% chance of being cured even co-infected with HIV.

Having previously treated with much more toxic and brutal drugs in 2006, this new therapy was a breath of fresh air, but also had it's own mess of side effects. But in the end, the side effects weren't severe, and I powered through treatment like a iron arrow going through the heart of a dragon. Not just any dragon, the king of all dragons, Hepatitis.

The results are in today January 12th, 2015, 6 months post treatment, and officially I can say I am cured of Hepatitis C once and for all. My dragon has been slain, and my life is forever changed. I'm still sitting here processing the events of the past 24 hours of my life after getting this spectacular news. Sovaldi truly works, and the words cure and HepC can now be uttered in the same breath with confidence. Click on the graphic to see the lab work for yourself.

As I pause in this time of reflecting, evaluation and focusing on God more, I am truly humbled by the events of the past year of my life. Never again will I lie sleepless in my bed pondering my own fate. No more weeping in the pillow of my own mortality, and the fate of my beloved wife. To never fathom again the thought of liver transplant, end stage liver disease, cirrhosis or liver cancer is for the lack of better terms, new.

But, I can't forget to give credit where credit is rightfully due. If it wasn't for my persistent faith in Jesus Christ, my surrounding band of brothers and church family, my amazing wife and the endless sacrifices of my parents, none of this would be possible today. Thanks to my caregiver Dr. Katherine Smith for treating me, and lastly to Michael J. Sofia who developed this new miracle drug called Sovaldi.

My blogs will continue, as this is just the beginning of a new era for myself and I Strive 2 Thrive. I am working on a new video documentary as we speak, and I hope to share it with you hopefully by Spring of this year. Forever grateful, eternally humbled and delightfully changed, thanks to everyone who has been a part of this amazing journey with me the past year.

In His Holy and Blessed Name,
Joe Burke (I Strive 2 Thrive)

Day 118, HCV Then & Now

It's hard to believe that I'm already one full week into bottle five and month 5 of my liver treatment. I'm so close to the finish line I can just begin to see the lights from the finish line. I'll be completely honest, this treatment has been the best blessing and breath of fresh air I've had in my entire life while taking treatments and therapies. In 2006, as some of you know from my past blogs, I treated with the toxic combination of PEG-Interferon and Ribavirin, and faced a plethora of side effects. I lost close to 10 pounds, had blood in my stool, developed a dry peeling facial irritation, my bones ached and hurt the entire duration of that 6 months, and I was constantly sick. Sadly, I didn't even go undetected until very late in therapy of those 24 weeks, only to suddenly relapse just 3 weeks later. The disappointment, pain, depression and a sense of being defeated clouded my mind for months after that.

First and Foremost I'm not a spokesperson for any drug company, nor endorsed, nor given brownie points for mentioning the names of these drugs. But I'm here to tell you treating on Sovaldi has been an amazing ride. As I approach my final month in a couple weeks, looking back retrospectively, I've concluded that this treatment has truly been a Godsend. I've had very mild side effects like headaches, lethargy and moments of brain fog, but everything is so easily manageable with over the counter medications like Tylenol, Advil or Alieve. I've had no skin irritations, no bloody stools, no weight loss, no hair loss and most importantly, NO INJECTIONS! The tides of change have truly shifted with the introduction of these new radical non-injection drugs to treat our Hepatitis C. I'm a living example of how effective these drugs are. Being a Genotype 3a, coupled with HIV and Hemophilia, the odds have never been in my favor. Geno3's are more common for relapses coupled with increased risk of fatty liver disease. But, as week 4 of treatment with Sovaldi and Ribavirin come to pass, I was officially undetected. What took 4 weeks with this new regimen, took 18 with the old standard of PEG-Interferon and Ribavirin. My cure rate is in the mid 90 percentile range, and for the first time the word cure and Hepatitis C can be boldly uttered in the same breath.

CLOSING ADVICE
As I approach the final month of treatment, I'm surrounded by some amazing friends, an amazing church at Real Life Christian Church here in Central Florida. God, my wife and church have been the foundations for mentally and emotionally dealing with treatment and it's ups and downs. My advice to anyone seeking treatment for their HCV is to make sure they have a well established support system in place. It's good to have a group of people to confide in, to let off some steam and vent to, and to rejoice in your triumphs and give love during your trials. Whatever this system looks like for you, it's a vital part of the psychological portion of treating your HCV. It's no secret these medications bring havoc on the mind, so it's helpful to have those friends to open up with about your treatment, liver disease and allow that avenue to to be open and honest with who you are. I lived 80% of my life in fear, seclusion and in hiding because of living with Hemophilia coupled with co-infection could easily spread fear in small-towns and rural Appalachia back in the 80's and 90's. I don't have to walk in that fear of my diseases, and I am blessed with an amazing group of men and a church that lifts me up, calls and checks on me, and I meet with often times daily. Faith to me is the crucial element to snap me out of my funk, and whip me back to reality and get my mind focused on the race. I'm just stating what is working, has worked and continues to work for me from my own experiences. At the end of my day to day, it's about Jesus Christ, always will be. I know for many, being open about their disease is something they're not ready for or not even an option. I've come to a place of mind lately where I don't care what others think based on my illnesses, and nothing that has happened to me has been by "chance." My strength lies in my testimony of surviving, thriving and striving to keep the fight moving forward no matter the obstacle. If we loose hope and faith, we're already defeated.

"Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:17-18 NIV

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!?