Hi Robin,
I know nothing about decompensated cirrhosis but there are several very good people here who may be able to make your load feel lighter. I'm sorry for how bad you feel.
My impression is that when we're talking advanced liver disease, like yours, that a person sometimes may have to get worse before he can get better, in order to be evaluated for a transplant. I could be wrong. I don't know how the transplant lists work but my guess is that your first goal is to see if you can get a transplant evaluation.
I hope Mr. Liver stops by to offer his opinion. He can give you feedback and hope.
In the meantime, here is an excellent thread for you to look at. It's not always on topic but if you scroll through it and look for posts by Mr. Liver and JennyPenny, I think it might help you a bit:
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Hepatitis-C/stage-4-Cirrhosis-of-the-liver-w--hep-c/show/417294
Don't give up. There are several 'transplant' members here and they're real success stories.
I agree with Jenny, now that you have health coverage, ask for a transplant evaluation ASAP.
Susan