recently diagnosed hep c 10 yr. old girl

[soguilty]

My 10 yr. old daughter has been recenly diagnosed with Hep C. She knows that I have it and she has seen me go through hell while on interferon w/ ribiviron. Hospital admissions, blood transfusions, the works! I have already told my daughterthat I would not have any more children, for fear that they would be born with this awful disease. So she is aware that children can get it from there mothers in utero. All my daughter talks about is having babies someday. This diagnosis is going to destroy her. I have been putting off telling her for 5 weeks now. Wll her appointment with the Pediatric Liver Specialist is 1 week away and I need to tell her. I've thouhgt about telling her that it is a blood disorder, just so she can be extra cautious with her blood and her freinds. She is so young and I don't want her to think that she is going to be as sick as I was. Please help.......

[JennyPenny]

I'm sorry you are going through this with your child. But it is NOT your fault. You did not intentionally give your child hep C. And the truth is that only 5% of children born to HCV positive moms get the actual virus. Children do much much better on treatment than adults do. I don't know why but they do not feel the side effects that we do. Please stress the blood transmission to your child but also tell her that it is rare for a mom to pass it on to an unborn child and you are sure she will have as many kids as she would like. Your attitude about this will help her get through it. So perk up and put on a happy face. I wish you and your daughter the best of luck.

[Marcia2202]

One of my 18 year old twin daughters was just diagnosed today, so I really know what you're going through. She surely got it from me, maybe 18 years ago, maybe from sharing shavers. We'll never know. The other 4 kids are negative.

My first advice is, that you need to get rid of the guilt feeling, as it is definitely not your fault. What parent would infect her child purposely. As JennyPenny says, young people do much better on tx.

Also your daughter will not have to worry about transferring it to her babies in the future, if she will get rid of the virus through treatment.

I cannot advice you on how to tell your daughter, as mine is much older. And every person reacts differently. You will know best how to tell her, as you are her Mom and you know her best. Follow your gut feeling. And please do not blame yourself. It is not us who make the world go round.

I'm sending you a lot of warmth and good energy.

Hugs,

Marcia

[Deb_c430]

This is a parents worse nightmare,  But YOU CANNOT BLAME yourself!  

The young have something going for them that us middle  aged don't, they have youth!

Younger people seem to SVR  quickly!   So hold on to hope, hold on to this can and will be a short term bump in the road!  

Hugs and best wishes

Deb

[Mom1215]

Our daughter was three and a half at diagnosis. What was VERY important to me was not passing shame about this disease on to her. I did not know I had hepatitis. No one intentionally passes illness to their children. My husband and son were both negative. We got an incredible pediatric hepatologist and watch her with biopsies and labs. At age 14 her biopsy showed some progression and we decided to treat her simply because her doctor gave us the most persuasive argument. He said this did not have to become an adult disease for her. She was young and her immune system would never be as capable to fight her hepatitis as it was then. I at the time had not responded to any treatment and I tried several different combinations so I was naturally hesitant to treat her. We agreed to try treatment with one condition and that was her viral load had to be checked early and frequently because we did not want her on the meds for any longer then she needed to be if there was no change in her viral load. A few days before Christmas 2004, three weeks into treatment we got initial test results from her second week of treatment. She had no viral detection. She continued on treatment for a year and has remained clear. She graduates from high school next week. I tell you all of this because not one time did she get a message from us that this illness was something to be embarrassed about or that it would limit her in any way. I understand your fear and terror about your daughter but there is so many reasons to be hopeful. Read everything you can and find a knowledgeable pediatric hepatologist. When you tell your daughter make sure she understands that it is different in children. They fair far better on treatment then adults. If she senses your fear she will become fearful. If she senses guilt or embarrassment well I think you know what I mean. It is sad it is hard but it will be ok. MOM1215

[Marbro]

I may have contracted Hep C, from some one purposely trying to infect me. I'm getting a blood test tommorow. I'm 17 years old. Your daughter isn't the only child infected. I suggest to not tell her until she is at least 14, 15 years old. I've been so depressed lately, I can't even get up in the morning and I'm not even sure if I have it. Its a very hard thing to deal with, not just physically.

Good Luck,
Marbro

[dancegirl54]

I passed HCV on to 2 of my 4 children.  There is nothing worse than the initial shock. But it gets better. You will come to realize it is what it is. And can you imagine what treatments will be available for her that you didnt have? I have 1 child that has treated and cleared - treated because his liver was in bad shape. My 20 year old daughter has not tx yet, and we see Dr A one of the foremost authorities on HCV.  He suggested she finish school and wait because she is a stage and grade 0, and he said, you will certainly want to treat before you start planning a family - so there is NO reason why she cant have kids someday.  

[Marbro]

I think people have to stop looking at hep C like its AIDS or something. I heard they couldn't even treat hep c 5-10 years ago, imagine what kind of treatment they will have in 10 years. Hep C seems to be a pretty managable disease, as long as you take care of yourself and don't drink.

[lolitriqui]

there is no easy way to do this; i am constantly worried about passing this thing on to my daughter; however i think you should tell her what it is and maybe if you know how you got it; she will understand; guilty we all are, but it istn't like you gave it to her on purpose; you both will get through this; she has also time, and there will be better tx options in the future;
we are all with you when you tell her....... ciao

[Debbie223]

My heart goes out to all of you in this situation...my daughter is 22 and has not been tested yet... my huband is negative.... I want her to get tested but she is so busy right now.. I have lefted it up to her but I am worried...she used my razor on many occasions and of course I did give birth to her.. we are and were very close when she was growing up...I just know it will be alright. I am now in the stage of acceptance with this and will be ready to do what I have to do to get rid of it. It is such a emotional roller coaster that we go through...

Guilt is a useless emotional, it does not serve you.....

Peace and Blessings.

[mike716]

If you decide to tell her, which I believe is the right thing to do, you could show her, right away, that she has a thousand new friends she can share with, in this forum. She uses computers, doesn't she? Ask her to post here what she feels, what she's going through. Maybe she can even start some forum threads for kids and teenagers. Fear is the enemy, and fear comes from feeling alone. If you bring her here she won't be alone, and she can help others.

Mike