Retirement Blues

I used to wonder what life would be during retirement. I dreaded the day when I had to retire. One month before the scheduled date, I was hospitalised. I was diagnosed with hepatitis C a few months earlier and after a series of tests, I was told I had to start my treatment.

I was given medical leave the moment I started the treatment. So, in actual fact, my retirement started a month earlier. I was really misearable. The treatment comprised of weekly injections and daily oral medication. It made me really sick. Most of the time I felt giddy. I lost my appetite. My haemoglobin level was very low and this made me very tired. I could not climb a short flight of stairs without stopping several times.My hair dropped. Everything tasted bitter and yet I had to eat to increase my haemoglobin. On top of all this I developed vertigo. Every time I turned my head, I had to close my eyes . Otherwise the whole world would spin. The vertigo went on for two weeks. I was terribly misearable. All these were the after effects of the medication not the effects of hepatitis C itself. The effects of hepatitis will only be felt at an advanced stage. I was diagnosed at stage 2.

During the six months of treatment, I made numerous trips to the hospital. I am really grateful to all the nurses and doctors who assisted me during my predicament. I was rather scared that I might not be able to complete the 6-months treatment period inspite of the sufferings I had to endure. The doctor who treated me had already made it clear that if my body could not withstand the effects, then he had to stop the entire treatment and this meant that my hepatitis would not be cured.Nevertheless, with support from friends, relatives and most of all my husband and mother, I completed the treatment on the 14th of August 2008.Six months after I was told by the doctor that "you are like any normal person now". I suppose that meant I was cured.

Syukur Alhamdulillah.