Introduction

My name is Terry Holter and I live in the seaside town of Eastbourne.

Born in 1955 and I am a Gemini.

Two years ago I was admitted to our local hospital after a visit to my doctor because I was unable to eat and I was getting weaker by the hour.

After an endoscopy and blood tests it was discovered I was losing blood rather badly through a ruptured osophical varice (or vaicus vein in the wind pipe). This meant I had to be admitted and the problem corrected and receive a top up for the blood I lost.

So I woke up that evening (they had to sedate me for the endoscopy or camera down the throat (I did not like that bit :-( )) with loads of different tubes feeding blood and other liquids into me as quickly as possible and apparently I did not look at all well.

Anyway to cut a long boring story short it was discovered that I had Chirosis of the Liver caused by a blood born virus call Hepetitis C which could have been dormant in my body for up to 30 years or more. I have my own pet theory on how I came in contact with this virus but no proof so I can not take the American route and sue sombody.

After nearly two years of tests and consultations and endoscopy's it was finally decided that I be refered to King's College Hospital (London) and the Institute of Liver Studies to see if I was a candidate for treatment of the virus which was only identified and named in the 90's.

I had my first and last treatment of pegylated interferon and Ribavirin last week with the injection of interferon on the 19th.

I never really got to find out how I would get on with the different side effects of the treatment as on the 20th I had a CT scan and the Hepetitis Clinical Nurse Specialist looking after my case was unhappy with the some of the results from my recent blood tests were going so pushed for and got me to have a CT scan. This week I was told that they are stopping the treatment as a (we shall call it a lesion for now (or as I call it "my freind Charlie") had grown from 2cm to 6cm and the item in my blood test had jumped from 138 to double the amount so I have got to have an MRI scan soon to confirm it's size and location, so watch this space.