Wissinoming man proves you can battle and survive Hepatitis C

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He's a fighter

By: Fritsky

Wissinoming man proves youcan battle and survive Hepatitis C

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Six years ago, Wissinoming resident Waddell gave hope to

Philadelphia firefighters who had just learned they were infected with the

Hepatitis C virus. He discovered in 1994, after 20 years of unknowingly

donating contaminated blood to the Red Cross, that he had contracted the

liver damaging virus from a 1970 blood transfusion.

Waddell, now 76, is a proven survivor; he has lived the past five

years with a new liver.

" Here's somebody who has waited for quite a while, wore a beeper, got

a liver and here he is now, " Waddell said of his accomplishment.

Waddell was diagnosed with Hepatitis C at a time when few people knew

what the virus was. According to the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, about 30,000 Americans are infected with the virus each year. It

can cause cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, even death. Those infected must

either receive a liver transplant or take medication the rest of their

lives. There is no cure.

Perhaps Hepatitis C's worst feature, however, is that it can go

undetected for years after a person contracts it. It was 20 years before

Waddell felt its effects, including fatigue, nausea and weight loss. A

severely damaged liver can also release toxins into the body that cause

hepatic encephalopathy, severe mental confusion and hallucinations, which

Waddell also experienced.

" It was a whole new ball game, " said Waddell's wife, Doris, a retired

nurse. " I inquired, I asked and I read about it. It was a learning

experience as we went on. "

Waddell in 1998 was placed on a liver transplant list through Temple

University Hospital's Living Donor Program. He wore a beeper that sounds

when an organ becomes available. It beeped several times until the program

was discontinued and Waddell was forced to seek help at the University of

Pennsylvania Hospital. Doris knew that time was not on their side; as many

as five percent of infected persons die from the disease's complications.

When he visited U of Penn., Waddell, then 71, received devastating

news - the hospital did not perform liver transplants for people over age

70. But after learning that Waddell had not abused his body, doctors agreed

to put him on their transplant list. He wore a beeper that sounded twice

before he got the call he had been waiting for in 2001. They had a liver for

him.

Doctors prepped him for the six to eight hour operation, which turned

out to be an overwhelming success for Waddell. He returned home just days

before his 72nd birthday in March.

" I had a good recovery, " Waddell said. " I felt wonderful. The

tiredness left me, the appetite came back. "

Waddell went to doctor's appointments every week for three months

after his transplant. He will take medication for Hepatitis C for the rest

of his life and undergo liver biopsies each year. A new liver doesn't force

the virus from the body. Waddell's new liver is already being attacked.

Waddell, who is both a father and grandfather, credits Doris, his

doctor at Temple and God for helping him through his struggle.

" When they told me there was nothing they could give me [to cure the

disease], I just turned it over to the Lord, " Waddell said, " because I

couldn't handle it in my own strength. "

His message is still one of optimism. He offers the contact

information of his doctor to anyone he meets with the virus.

" Don't give up hope, " he said. " You have to have a positive attitude. "

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