Thank Ewe;)

My experience, with work, fairly large tech company, where I have
worked for many years now, was fairly positive. Good benefits, when I
decided to do Tx I went to HR and explained the situation, that it was
apt to be a long grueling haul, and there was no way for me to
anticipate how I would react/handle it. They were able to put me on
"modified FMLA" which meant that I could continue to work, and if and
when, as needed, use FMLA time for absences etc.

I discussed the actual problem with my Manager - a co worked of many
years standing and a great lady, who said "What is Hepatits C I've
never heard of that, what does that mean....???" Jeez!

My "supervisor" was aware of my "status" tho we never discussed the
actual "problem" I suspected that he had a pretty good idea of what
the problem was, as the son of a doctor! He was a great young man,
very nice, always concerned, there to ask "how are you doing" etc
witout being intrusive.

Other co-workers if course were pretty much initally in the dark.
After I had lost the first 20 pounds, lots of women stared asking what
my "secret" was, if I had a special diet I was using haha! ever the
clown, I told them I was on the Ice Cream Sandwich Diet - no beer, no
wine and eat only ice cream sandwiches.....little did they know how
true it was! The ice cream sandwiches were my "fat" to take my Riba
with as well as one thing that would always go down...

By the time I was approaching the 10 month mark, it must have been
showing. There's a lot to be said for having been a single parent of
long standing with a finely honed auto - pilot and a strong ability to
just suck it up and say "so you feel like sh.t, so what things still
need to be done, nobody's gonna pick up the slack for you"...but the
days at work had gotten really rough, the Brain Fog was tremendous, I
spent way too much time staring at the computer monitor mopping my
face with my hands trying to figure out why I had flipped from one
application to another, haha! Then I came down with pneumonia,
followed by a MRSA infection and it was really "all over" for me and I
did spend two months on Short Term disability, I really could not
dredge up anything with which to carry on at that point, I had to
stay down for the count and put some energy into jsut surviving and
recovering...

On the other hand, I DID make the decision going in to put myself
first for once in my life, and determined for the "next year" my main
focus would be on getting thru tx and getting well, whatever it took.
Even while I dragged myself bravely to work, I came home at the end of
the day and collapsed into be to prepare myself for another day to
face.

I was very blessed in support - family and loved ones. While they were
all unbelieveably supportive, carried on the world around me, my
boyfreind as well, handled everything while I slept for months and
months. But then again he had been a single man all his life before me
and knew very well how to take care of himself. And his focus during
my tx was simlply
'"all that matters is getting you well". My youngest son, who is still
around, was there to run errands, make "herbal" purchases for me, with
complete understanding, as well as to offer half his liver as soon as
I let him know when I needed it, haha!

My brother found me a beautiful Dragon Slayer Sword on Ebay which he
bought me to hang on my wall where I could see it first thing when I
awoke every morning and last thing at night before I went to sleep...

All that being said, I have to agree that despite all the "support" it
was still a mystery to all of them. Boyfriend could not believe ANYONE
could sleep as much as I slept. Family would ask constantly "how are
you feeling" and all I could reply was that I "felt the same as I had
felt all along and the same way I was going to feel until I got thru
this thing." It was almost annoying to have them constantly asking me
how I felt when it seemed to me that al they had to do was LOOK at me
and must be OBVIOUS how I felt....you could see the pain and the
concern and the inability to really "get it" etched on all of their
faces. I got used to, but tired of,  the look of Puzzlement that was
always on everyone's faces.

Bottom line, Treatment, like everything else in this journey of life,
is best and often ONLY truly "understood" by those who have as you say
"have walked the walk"

And that, TX, I believe is why many of us are still here, despite
having gotten thru it, and for some, having actually managed to kick
the Dragon's a.s Out of the Building. We have walked the walk, and we
do understand, and at this point can only offer our expeience and
support to folks like you who are trying to make it thru.

YOU CAN DO THIS!

I offer you {{{HUGS}}} and the words of a very wise 9 year old who
once, at the lowest point of my life, gave me a hug and said "Don't
worry Mom, someday you will look back on this and it will all seem
like it was all just a bad dream........"

KICK a.s!

lol. Cripes, my wife and I long before tx had resorted to spelling out the "W
Word" lest our doggies pull total nutties on us :-)

There's nothing quite so comforting when you're feeling like crap as curling
up on the bed with a pair of warm Labradors, though...

Cheers

/greyhackles