Naomi Judd's Letter
My Hepatitis C - Success StoryNaomi Judd
Dear Friends with Hepatitis C, Greetings
in the name of love, compassion and healing. Let me start by rattling
off some of the things that are currently in the works. In 1991, when I
retired from the concert stage because of Hepatitis, I started the
Naomi Judd Research Fund to find a cure with $75,000. At that time the
American Liver Foundation had only about $200,000 in it's account. I
volunteered to be your spokesperson even though I was sick and had very
little energy. This year, so far, I've helped raise over a million
dollars for research. While my aim is prevention, get people to be
tested, get Hepatitis B vaccines, promote organ donation awareness and
tell folks how important the liver is as an organ, I primarily want to
find a cure. Once a research scientist comes up with some clues it will
still take a couple of years of clinical trials, FDA approval and
frustrating red tape to make it available to all of us sufferers. Last
week I met with Dr. Ron Solon and Dr. Andrew Feranchak in Denver, Colorado.
Dr. Feranchak is from University of Colorado Health Science Services
and received a $100,000 research grant that I obtained for him to study
Pediatric Hepatitis C. I spent a couple of hours networking with these
leading Hepatologists. Next I flew to Los Angeles where I voluntarily made a fool of myself on Celebrity Jeopardy since Alex Trebek
guaranteed me a $10,000 contribution to my fund. This week I've been
working with Dr. Bruce Bacon, who's the Medical Advisor for the
American Liver Foundation, to organize a large fund raiser for his
renowned research facility at the University of St. Louis on March 28th. I will be doing local TV in St. Louis on Friday
the 27th, then Saturday I will be holding a press conference about
Hepatitis C, keynote speaking and then meeting with the St. Louis' area
Hepatitis support group. Putting together an event such as this takes
weeks, if not months. I've personally hired someone to help me. I began
working on the Hepatitis fund raiser during Fan Fair week here in Nashville a long time ago. Last year we raised $65,000 and this year the annual event is planned for June 14th at the Wildhorse Saloon in downtown Nashville.
On an ongoing basis, I spend personal time meeting with the leading
Hepatologists all across America such as Dr. Gray Gitnick in Los Angeles who writes some of the text books on liver disease, and Dr. Milton Mulchnick in Detroit who's studying Thymosin. I've worked with Gloria Moret who has the United Liver Fund in the Los Angeles
area. In addition, I go out of my way to contact the leading liver
transplant surgeons such as those at Baylor Hospital in Dallas, Texas.
I spend time visiting with patients who are awaiting liver transplants
like Hope House in Dallas
and those who have been the receivers. I do PSA's (Public Service
Announcements) for the ALF and will be at the February 24, 1998
National Summit for Hepatitis C with all four Surgeon Generals.
Everyday I answer letters and take call from Hepatitis sufferers. I
just recently took a fine young man named Brian Aldridge from Tupelo, Mississippi to my own church for a prayer healing with our elders. For
the record, not only have I never received a cent for the work I'm
doing, but I spend lots of my own money and am hiring a woman on my
personal payroll to help put together large fund raising endeavors to
bring in corporate sponsors. These are just a few of the things that
I'm doing presently in addition to magazine articles, newspaper
interviews and lectures. It's impossible for me to talk about Hepatitis
C on shows like Letterman and Jay Leno
because they're comedians and refuse to bring up disease and death on
light hearted entertainment shows. I walk a very fine line between
being a good talk show guest in order to be invited and trying to slip
in my message on liver disease. I must be aware of the big picture and
maintain my visibility. This weekend I will be in Phoenix, Arizona
doing a benefit raising money for Dr. Gladys McGarey, who 's one of the
country's leaders in complimentary medicine. This fine 75 years old
woman has been a leading health activist her entire medical career. I
will be the unpaid keynote speaker. I always pass out handouts with
information about Hepatitis C, other resources, as well as my reading
list and my recommended musical tapes. The next week, I will be going
to a seminar in South Carolina to sit at the feet of some of our country's leading health authorities, such as Dr. Joan Borysenko, a cancer cell Biologist from Harvard
who is a Psychologist and a prolific author, and Dr. Bernie Siegel
best-selling author of Love, Medicine and Miracles, etc. I hang out
with these cutting edge researchers so that I can turn around and
translate it for you and offer it to you anytime I'm given an
opportunity in the media. I
take such serious responsibility in checking out anyone whom I endorse
to you. I have to make personal time to meet them individually. For
instance, Dr. Andrew Weil, who is a best-selling author and has a special on healing on PBS, is an MD from Harvard and has set up an integrative medicine program at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
I arranged to meet with him one on one and we've become friends. I'm
like an old dog, I have to sniff people out. My credibility is
EVERYTHING to me. I believe in personal integrity, living authentically
and as honestly as I can, day to day. My credibility is critical if I
am to get public attention so I can provide you with information. I try
hard to keep my own nose clean and be a Godly woman. In case you
haven't read my autobiography, Love Can Build A Bridge, in which I
detail the first years after my diagnosis or if you've been living in a
cave and haven't seen me on TV or read the newspaper or magazine
articles, I will give you a synopsis of my medical journey the last
seven years. In 1987 I was ill all the time, chronic fatigue, a sense
of bone weariness, low grade temperature, chronic headache and
depression. I was diagnosed in 1989 with Cytomegalovirus and noticed
that my ALT and AST were slightly elevated but my doctor at the time
said it was just muscle strain. I knew so little about Hepatitis, I
didn't give it a second thought even though I'm a registered nurse. I
have never done IV drugs, have been monogamous and I've never even been
drunk in my life. So it did not occur to me that I might have
Hepatitis. By 1989, I was sometimes unable to get out of bed. After a
concert I would literally fall on to my bed on Wynonna's and my bus in
my stage outfit and high heels and fall into a deep sleep. No one had
ever seen me even have a cold so everybody around me new something was
wrong. I finally was told in January of 1990 that I did have Hepatitis
but was informed that it was non A and non B. I received one of the
first Hepatitis C tests that had just been approved at that time by the
FDA. After several testings I was told that I was negative for Hepatitis C. This was by a prestigious medical institution. I was then treated for the next five years by another well known medical facility in Nashville.
The doctors, even though they knew I was the spokesperson for the ALF
failed to tell me that the original Hepatitis C test was inferior and
the FDA had replaced it with a more sensitive, more accurate one. For
5 years I fell through the crack, even though I was getting tested for
LFTS every month, I was correctly diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 1994.
This should be a clear warning to you that you must get involved in
your own health. My only insurance comes from Screen Actors Guild.
I'm dependent on it and cannot get any other insurance because of my
diagnosis now. My first round of interferon in 1990 produced some of
the worst side effects on my medical record. I'm a very fragile person
physically and am hypersensitive to any medication. But I stuck with
the alpha interferon by ROCHE and after six months my ALT hovered
around one hundred. It was considered a success. It was life style
changes in my personal voyage of self discovery that led me to
wholeness and healing. My faith, my experience with complimentary
therapies, my family and my friends, my sense of purpose in helping
others, etc. have served me well in the last seven years. My first few
liver biopsies were not good and I was not pleased with my Doctors. I
finally found Dr. Right in 1996. He immediately put me on the Scherring
Plough Intron (3 million units, 3 times a week) which I gave myself
injections in my abdomen. My side effects were so severe I was once
rushed to the emergency room in the middle of the night. Yet it was
important to me to step out in faith, pray the answer instead of the
problem, live beyond my immediate physical circumstances and strive to
be a ray of hope for you. Somehow with God's grace I've kept going. I
was fully aware that anytime I was in public, whether it was on TV or
seen walking down a street that your eyes were on me. I've tried to
send you a clear message that "miracles happen where there is love" and
that we're all in this together. I have financial responsibilities,
must take care of myself physically, mentally, emotionally and
spiritually. My family worries that I spend too much time and energy on
this cause. I was on Zoloft for depression while on interferon because
of it's biochemical effect on serotonin levels. I conquered my serious
panic attacks. In May of 1997 when I came off of my last year long
regimen of interferon, my LST's were within normal range. The pathology
report on my latest liver biopsy was improved. One of the most
important things I can do for you is to keep myself healthy so that I
have enough energy and clear mindedness to fight our battle. I also owe
it to myself and my family to stay healthy. I want to be a living,
breathing testimony for you about Hepatitis remission. I want you to
know that you can not only survive but thrive. I have always believed
that in life, what I am is more important than anything I say. But the
primary reason I am doing all that I do is because I have a contract
with God. I feel a personal accountability to Him to grow in love and
wisdom and be of service. My deeply held philosophy is that service is
the work of the soul. It's the reason we're all here on this earth. I
know that there is nothing different or special about me. I believe
that I've been given whatever visibility or opportunities I might have
today to reach out and encourage you and take you to a higher level.
You're smarter than you think you are. You are stronger than you know.
Stop and think about the diseases that killed us a hundred years ago,
Typhoid, Polio,
Pneumonia, common tooth ache, Diphtheria, Tetanus. Now realize because
of our commitment, in the near future, today's deadly diseases like
Hepatitis, Aids and Cancer will also be passe. Only you know what
you're doing to be part of our solution. I encourage you to cling to
hope. I may not know your name or your face, but I know you're
out there. I know your pain. I know your fears. I know your sorrow. I'm
fighting the same battle you are. Still in one peace, Naomi Judd For more information on Hepatitis C visit Quantum Media Group
or send a business size, self-addressed, stamped envelope to Naomi
Judd, P.O. Box 682068, Franklin, TN 37068 along with your request for
Naomi's Hepatitis C information packet.
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