Here we go again. It”s like Timothy Busfield in Field of Dreams when he suddenly notices all the 1930s ballplayers around him. “Hey, where did they come from?” Suddenly Newsweek and all the MSM have “discovered” the VA’s shoddy medical practices after a slow boil since last summer’s rising of the Phoenix VAMC debacle. Each month brings a steady monotonous drum roll of more and more intransigence.

I guess the one disparaging thought is that the newsies still focus on HIV/Aids as the major threat and toss in Hep C as an afterthought like “Oh, yeah. and you can get that too.”
There are far more cases of HCV, known and unknown, than there probably ever will be of HIV. Face it. HIV?Aids has some very well-know precursors endemic to certain groups. Which is not to say HCV is not a frequent companion of intravenous drug abusers  but many have gotten it via cross contamination and not due to any risky behaviour.

The Coffee Report from Vermont

Good news from maple syrup Frank. To chase those cirrhosis blues away, drink coffee. Lots of it. Get a Starbucks frequent flyer card. Invest in it. Apparently coffee is the liver’s friend. We’re talking BFF if you can believe the article. I sorta had that figured out with the unnatural, all-day craving I have for coffee and the slowdown in my progression from Stage 3 to 4. I also discovered a hankering for coconut- real crack it open stuff- long ago without knowing it was liver-friendly as well. You sometimes have to give your subconscious a loose rein and let it find it’s way home through the uneven ground. Trust your feelings, Luke. Feel the liver Force.