Hepatitis C

Patrick Eden would have turned 55 the day of his funeral.

Hepatitis C cut his life short last March; and it turns out he had been living with the disease for 17 years without knowing it.

His widow, Terri Eden, of Yorba Linda, is determined to educate people on this disease of the liver caused by a virus of the same name.

“I’d like to do something in his honor because he was a fighter,” said Eden, 51. “I just want to focus on something positive so I ask myself, ‘What would Pat want?’ and that gives me the answer.”

To honor Patrick’s memory and to create awareness on the disease, a free event sponsored by Terri and Hepatitis C Awareness Inc., will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday at Java Joe’s. There will be screenings, guess speakers and live entertainment, all open to the public.

Terri said her husband loved to help friends and co-workers without being acknowledged; he would make them anonymous gifts in their time of need. Patrick even paid for the purchase and installation of a chair lift in the home of a co-worker who had Lou Gehrig’s disease, Terri added.

Patrick contracted the Hepatitis C virus at 35 during an operation to repair nerve damage caused by a car accident two years before. He was given infected blood.

For many years, doctors thought the high enzymes level in his liver were due to the medication he took for pain. Finally, a doctor in Yorba Linda diagnosed the Hepatitis C virus.

Kelly Zirbes, founder and volunteer for Hepatitis C Awareness, said symptoms don’t appear until a very advanced stage.

Terri said her husband never showed any signs of the disease until the last year of his life.

She added that people need to be aware of Hepatitis C, because without symptoms, many don’t know they have been infected.

Terri said she wants to continue her husband’s legacy of helping others so she will organize an event every year around his birthday.

“I know the suffering because of my husband; it was terrible seeing him suffer,” Terri said. “I don’t want anyone else to go through this.”

Taken From : www.ocregister.com