How Should I Face It, After Testing Positive for Hepatitis B? (Audio Essay)
I was struck by an illness that came out of nowhere, and in the blink of an eye I had become mired in pain and despair, and I lost all hope for life. Nevertheless, through God’s wonderful salvation, I came to understand that God’s will was behind my illness, and I saw God’s wondrous deeds. Remembering the events of that time, they are as vivid to me now as they were then.
A few months ago, my boss told us that Xiao Wang, one of my colleagues, had contracted a serious liver condition and had been hospitalized for treatment. The boss went on to say that the illness Xiao Wang had contracted could be transmitted to other people through physical contact, food, drink and bodily fluids. As we were often in contact with Xiao Wang, it was highly probable that we would have been infected, so we were told to go to the hospital immediately for testing. Hearing this news, the office was suddenly all abuzz; everyone was worried that they were infected, and so we all hurried to hospital. After a series of tests, I waited uneasily for the results. After a while, the doctor came and handed me the test results, and said: “You are a carrier of the Hepatitis B virus, and it has not been contracted recently, but has probably been there for a while.” I simply couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and I asked the doctor to repeat herself. The doctor said regretfully, “You heard right. This is real. You must seek urgent treatment. If you delay, then your condition will worsen, and if it becomes liver cancer then you’ll be in real trouble. What’s more, as this virus cannot be wholly eradicated from the body, you will carry this virus for the rest of your life. You should get your mind right and be prepared!” This terrible, sudden news left me all at sea, and my whole body seemed to shrivel up like an eggplant affected by the frost, and my legs felt as heavy as lead. Scared out of my mind, I took the test results and left the hospital, not knowing how to get home.
