This past Sunday Night, I was the recipient of The Liver Coalition of San Diego's Anders Nyberg Volunteer of the Year award.
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In all honesty, until I'd been approached by Scott Suckow about it, I'd not even thought that I was a contender, as awards and recognition for a lot of the work I've done over the past decade, haven't been a part of that.
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I hadn't thought about the hours joining #CalHep, #EndTheEpidemics, participating in #HillDays, helping and speaking at the Scripps Health Annual New Treatments in Chronic Liver Disease.
And there wasn't a part of me that had even considered the years acting as a writer, moderator, and peer counselor, helping establish End Hep C SD as chair of the consumer committee, turning my otherwise traumatic experience of 7+ years in #EndStageLiverDisease from age 22-30 into a light I could shine for peers to gain an advantage I'd wished I'd had.
But hearing Christian Ramers tell my story, I was something I'm not used to, I was at a loss for words.
And to be frank, until conversations afterwards, I'd not thought about the upcoming sessions for American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) TLM, on the #PatientJourney and a session on #EndHepC as well as speaking at a panel to kick off for the 2024 Hep C Summit in December this year. Talking with #doctors and fellow #patientadvocates, some strangers, now colleagues, sharing stories with familiar names like friend and fellow advocate Karen Hoyt.
I hadn't thought about these things, because to me these are honors among themselves, being here, being able to do this work is a part of who I am.
But it was great feeling acknowledged by a local facet of the community I'd been a vocal part of for over a decade.
In truth, in 2017, I received recognition as the Liver Champion from LCSD's predecessor and the Pacific Coast division of the American Liver Foundation and ALF itself in their 2017 Annual Report, but there, the flurry of TV appearances, Asks to save the ACA, all correlated with my miraculous rebirth and subsequent cure of #HepC.
Here, there was no such moment.
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To receive this epic award from my community, my peers, my colleagues and my friends, I'm reminded of the work done, and inspired for the work left to do.
