Words of Hope

Did you ever stop to think how important words of hope are to someone who has just been diagnosed with Hepatitis C? In this; part two of my previous post, I'll tell you.

A beautiful young woman approached my booth and picked up a copy of my book: Breaking Free from Hepatitis C, A Personal Journey. As she turned it over to read the back cover, I asked her if she new of someone who was infected with the virus. She slowly lifted her head and with a scared and confused look on her face said "Yes, I was just diagnosed."
"Well, what are you gonna do about it" I asked in a positive tone.
"I don't know" she said, "I only have one person I can talk too, and that person says that there is nothing I can do and is always very negative about the whole situation."
"Stay away from them then" I said, "the last thing you need is to be around someone with a defeatist attitude. You need to get positive; positive that somehow, someway you are going to beat this thing. You need to get a Refuse to Loose / Failure is not an Option attitude!" I may have overstepped my bounds a little, buts that's how I feel.

Her eyes got wider as a smile came across her face. "That's the first time anyone has tried to give me a little hope since I've been diagnosed. All I've heard up till now is doom and gloom."

I could see a glimmer of hope in her eyes, so I continued with an example that I often use. "Take two people with the same life threatening disease" I said, "now, imagine the first entering a medical center and saying I'm here because they sent me here. Now imagine the second one, entering the same medical center and saying I'm here to beat this disease. Which one do think gets the better response during their treatments?" I asked.

Her smile got wider, "exactly" I said. "Any Health Professional will tell you that attitude makes all the difference; at least any open minded one."

As we concluded our conversation, I told her to call me anytime she needed a shot of positive attitude, and I hope she does. I also told her to weigh all the options, make up her own mind and stick too it. I said I would support any decision she made and told her not to let anybody ruin her attitude and most importantly, NEVER GIVE UP!