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762726 tn?1234708736

LAW ENFORCMENT OFFICERS WITH HEP C

We need a list by state to start groups for support. All comments will be useful.
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Avatar universal
Jim said it well - hep C crosses all boundries.  That's a message that needs to be sent out loud and clear - this can happen to anybody!

jd
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Avatar universal
A list of what? Police officers who are infected by HCV? I doubt such a list exists because of privacy laws. My suggestion would be to work with your major police organizations who I assume already have mechanisms in place to reach police officers such as mailing lists, journal announcements, etc, etc. I don't think anyone here can be of much help in that regard. On the other hand, if you simply want to join a HCV support group, there should be lists of such groups available but they are not specific by occupations as far as I know. Also feel free to stay here and receive whatever support you can get. I think you'll find very fast that Hep C does not have a race, color or badge.

-- Jim
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Avatar universal
Wow....the censoring here is really something ... that should read the "Wisdom of Wh0res"  ... I hope y'all will survive reading that word....
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Avatar universal
Well, I seem to be reading his comments differently than you.  I have been understanding it that he's not looking for a different support system but rather looking to network with others who are first responders to fight for appropriate compensation for when HCV and other such things become an inherent unavoidable job hazard and then become a reality.

Initially I thought he was looking to start a separate support system period for law enforcement officers - that's why I asked the question, wondering why he would feel that was necessary -  and that doesn't seem to be the case - only to find others who need to fight the same compensation fight.  

I'll await a clarification on his part before commenting any further on his particular intent.

One of the Canadian forums I visit on occasion has a separate forum for those who are dealing with working through the compensation claims.  They're not segregating themselves and considering themselves in a different class of HCV persons, that forum is simply for focusing in on that particular issue. That's not implying there are two or more classes of people with HCV at all.  It's simply recognizing there are different issues to be dealt with across the spectrum.  I would completely understand a group for people who are co-infected and I kind of wonder why we don't have a forum for that, although perhaps it's because people with HIV deal with their Hep C first rather than simultaneously.  

Aside from that, when we're talking Hep C in general, I agree ... it doesn't matter how you got it, we are all in this together when it comes to fighting the disease and aiming for a cure.  

However that stigma thing is an interesting one.  I mentioned in a thread once before on a very interesting book I read called "The Wisdom of ******" about the politics of funding for AIDS.  And the only way they were able to get funding in far too many cases was to portray it as a heterosexual disease that affects women and children more than it really did in some cases and to skew the facts somewhat and then the money poured in and they were able to use it for the people that really needed it. Kind of sad that if you were gay you didn't deserve funding. I'm a bit concerned the same thing will happen in the HCV community. Over time, as the blood supply has become more secure (at a very tragic cost, I might add) and sterilization methods and knowledge increases, the percentage of those who contract HCV via IVDU increases.  It makes me wonder if the only way we're going to get funding for HCV is to mask it also as an "everyman" disease to a greater extent than it is so that we can focus on prevention and cure for IVDU's who wouldn't normally get any attention or funding because nobody gives a damn about them.  Now there's a controversial comment for you.

Trish

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Avatar universal
correction - that should read "when I was working as a prosecutor...."  

Always an uncertain speller,
jd
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Avatar universal
Like many other members of this forum, I will never know for sure how I was infected HCV.  I have a couple of risks in my past, any of which could have been the point of exposure.

Maybe I got Hep C when I worked in a residential facility caring for developmentally disabled clients.  Lots of the clients had medical conditions that required injections, transfusions, etc. and we knew little about blood-borne pathogens then (late 1970s) and did not use universal precautions.

I suppose I could have contracted it when my violent first husband was splitting his knuckles open on my teeth.  I don't know if my ex has Hep C and I don't plan on contacting him to inquire.  

Maybe I was exposed while working as a prosccutor in NYC.  Like many of my colleagues, I was occasionally assaulted by suspects I interviewed, and I was necessarily present at many crime scenes that were very bloody.

I never used IV drugs, so I am certain I did NOT contract Hep C that way.  

What disturbs me about this thread is the proposition put forth that "we" need a separate support system for a particular group, based on how they contracted the virus.  Most of us will never know how that happened, although some may have strong suspicions in that regard.  

We all must fight the SAME disease, regardless of how we became infected.  We all must deal with the stigma attached to being HCV positive.  We should NEVER imply that there are 2 classes of people infected with Hep C - those who acquired the virus "innocently" and those whose own "culpable" conduct  led to their infection.  The more we stick together to raise awareness and support funding for research, screening, education and treatment, the more we defeat the ignorance of those who view the risk as one confined to IV drug users.  If we divide, and infer that there are 2 classes of people with Hep C, we reinforce that ignorance.  

jd
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Avatar universal
Elaine ... I would rather also.  Hugs to you, darlin.

Trish
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Avatar universal
Okay, I understand what you were driving at, thought you were reading into what was said and you were making an editorial comment in general.  Former IVDU users are in all walks of life as well, to add to your point.  A number of us who are being diagnosed later in life are having our youthful indiscretions potentially catch up with us and have put that part of life far behind us and then *wham* there it is .. although with Hep C, it's almost impossible to know exactly how you got it.  I had a blood transfusion in 1984 so ...a toss-up.  Thanks for the clarification.
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Avatar universal
I was not directing the scumbag word to you at all...im just saying most people think that most of us who have this disease think we are losers...my point was that IV drug users are in all walks of life...and its "hidden" from the public eye...what we see on the street in just a tip of the iceberg...
the money spent on drugs by the upper class is insane
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Avatar universal
"Many hemophiliacs have passed away and some are still fighting HCV
I don't consider them in a class all of their own as HCV is a disease it does
not care who you are, nor how you got it, however it could have been prevented,
it should not have reached our nations blood supply not just because of hemophiliacs,
but for every human being."

I hear you on that, Elaine when it comes to that.  When it comes to the HCV itself, it doesn't matter how you got it insofar as support and standing united to help deal with the disease.  

However, when fighting for compensation and to make sure it doesn't happen again in those cases where it should NOT have happened as in the tainted blood disaster, it DOES matter how you got it, doesn't it.  I don't understand why it's held up in the courts in your country.  In my country it's been settled and people are getting their compensation.  

This comment is generic not to anyone in particular

What I see this fellow looking for is communicating with others who also got infected as First Responders and working together so that they are adequately compensated for putting themselves on the line.  I don't see anything wrong with that.  The firefighters in my part of the country are fighting for compensation for the illnesses that they get that come from being exposed to various hazards while fighting fires.  Those in the military get unique compensation for exposing themselves to the various dangers they face - I know those going to Afghanistan get a whole other kind of compensation.  So I don't see anything amiss here by having First Responders band together to ensure they're adequately compensated for the risks they take.  What would we do without these people?

The people who may have been infected with HCV in Nevada recently will fight their own separate fight for compensation along with the unified battle to beat their HCV before it beats them.  There is a board here for liver transplants as well and those with HCV who also have liver transplants have unique issues that need to be addressed separately.

I don't know what it's like to be a law enforcement officer sitting in the same room potentially with people who you've put away.  I know that active IVDU's don't want to come to our support group meetings so I've offered to come to them.  Didn't get taken up on the offer.  I do see that this guy involves himself with the Hep C community but that dealing with his own unique issues as well may require him to band together with others in a similar situation to fight for their own specific needs.

Rocker - nowhere did anyone use the word scumbag or even infer that.  You brought that word into it and YOU separated out lawyers, doctors and judges from IVDU's and applied the label scumbag to IVDU's.  It's your OWN bias coming out in your comments - not anyone else's.  I'm a good mom and I like to think a decent person.  I was also an IVDU back in the day.  I protest your use of the word "scumbag" to identify an IVDU.  I wasn't a scumbag then and I'm not one now.
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762726 tn?1234708736
I have been the drug enforcement end of things and it is had for a police officer to sit in the same group with a sexual predator present or a violent felon he put in prison. I had no problem with it because I gave them the respect that I could and they did me the same, I could trust some criminals more than a few of those I had as partners but there is two sides to this story. Even the worst of the worst needs a new beginning all of us had made some mistakes or the wrong choice  that has not just effected us but all of our loved ones. We have to live with our decisions. I didn't pick up my grand children for close to 3 years and even now I call my self a dumb *** for allowing the feeling of invincibility to take over in some cases of my employ but the problem is out their. We all need to understand each others illness not how we got it. A group of Leo's in one state at a time could possibly get policies changed. to help with compensibility issues. When I talk to Law Enforcement officers They don't realise that they are a part of a very large group called FIRST RESPONDERS. they all have an issue with policies pertaining to hazards of the job The reason all of us that have hep c can't get answers is political. As one that worked for the government I have seen it but a single person can't make a change. In 2005 I went to the capitol bldg for hep c awareness day and was their as a person that needed to put a face on the problems with treatment for hep c and not for Leo's. WE WILL BO STRONG TOGETHER.
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Avatar universal
I don't much care for that comment either.  I didn't use IV drugs, not in law enforcement and I have hepc. Should those exposed to the virus in law enforcement prior to identifying hepc transmission get special consideration and support, more so than myself who received a blood transfusion 1972 when they didn't know about transmission of hepc.

If I chose a profession with a high risk of exposure to infectious disease, I would hope the organization provides education and support because it would be unrealistic to enter that profession and think the exposure to infectious disease would be low.  Cops, fights, guns, blood, ambulances, they go hand in hand.  
Same thing with the medical profession such as EMT or first responders.  They need to be educated prior to practicing emergency care because the exposure is so high.  
These are chosen professions with risk.

I'm all for support groups, just don't think one group of  heppers deserves more consideraton than another.  Hepc is an equal opportunity disease.

Trinity
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Avatar universal
Why do most people think just scum bags IV drugs...you would be amazed of the professioals who do it...doctors,lawyers .judges....its proberly a bigger problem that whats we see on the streets
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Avatar universal
I didn't quite take his comment that he felt superior, only that it would be uncomfortable for police officers and the IVDU's they bust to be in the same group.  I don't have an opinion on that one way or the other.  It's just an interesting dialogue and it would be interesting to know if IVDU's feel comfortable talking freely with police officers present.  It goes both ways, doesn't it?  Even in our support group, I was told that co-infected people wouldn't come to our support group because they'd lose their anonymity and some were still using and they wouldn't feel comfortable exposing themselves.  

Maybe it's got nothing to do with superiority and just that it's an awkward situation.  Possible?
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Avatar universal
A list of what by state?

Are you looking to start support groups for law enforcement officers only?  If yes, I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this question and I hope it doesn't get incendiary here - wondering why you think it's necessary to have one for law enforcement officers only.



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