It's true. No good deed goes unpunished.
I give blood two or three times a year. Whenever the Red Cross calls, I go. The last time was the middle of June.
On Saturday, we received this letter from the Red Cross stating my blood had tested positive for the hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc).
"This result could mean either that you have had an infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) at some point in the past, or the test gave a false positive result.
What is Hepatitis B and how is it spread?
Hepatitis B is an infection of the liver caused by HBV. The virus is passed between people through blood-to-blood contact (for example during tattooing, needlstick exposures, and rarely through transfusion). HBV is also spread through sexual contact and from a mother to her newborn baby. Occasionally HBV is spread to household members who are not sexual partners."
After reading the letter, I knew it had to be a false positive. Didn't think another thing about it. Wasn't worried one bit. I had a complete physical in February. Everything was fine. I can't give birth, so that's a non-issue. Don't have any tatoos. Don't plan on getting any tatoos. Unfortunately, the sexual contact option was null and void also. Home or away. I had none of the symptoms. No sickness. No nausea. No abdominal pain. No yellowing of the skin. None. Not one. Nada. (Although, they do say 30% of the people that actually have it, show no symptoms.) To me, it was case closed. Obviously, it had to be a false positive. Move on. Spend the energy on something else.
It's amazing to me how issues such as this can take on a life of their own. Maybe it's the difference in gender? Wife MD was on this like white on rice. I bet she and I talked for two hours. Retracing our steps for the three months. Where had we been? Who had we seen? Where had we eaten? How could this be? Did I have anything I felt the need to confess to her? Now was the time. How could the Red Cross be wrong? These things don't just happen. These are professionals. Blood is their business. What is I was really sick? What would they do? What would happen to all of them? Some people carry this the rest of their lives. I shouldn't take this so lightly. I could really be sick. Blah blah blah.
I began to understand how Roger Clemens must feel. How do you prove a negative? Although in Roger's case, you did it buddy. Sorry. I'm not you. I do see your point though.
So, MD calls daughters JD and AD. She calls her mom. She calls my mom. She calls her sisters. They talk it to death. I have to hear about all their theories. Of course, they think about. Call back. They talk some more. I get to hear the latest theories. That means more phone calls. It became annoyingly comical. I laughed my ass off which, of course, did nothing but add fuel to the fire. I should know better than to laugh at a wife's concern. She really had my best interest at heart. Actually, it was quite sweet of her. But really, wasn't this going overboard?
Family. I have a suggestion. Why don't I get tested again. Only this time I'll go to our family physician. I have nothing to hide. Cool. Remember this on Saturday. I can't see our doctor before Monday. Does this end the discussion? You know better.
I bet wife MD emailed five times on Monday. Had I contacted the doctor? I tried. Honestly, I tried. His line was busy each time. Don't you think I want to talk to him? Don't you think I want to put an end to this? The email roll over to Tuesday. More of the same. More emails. More phone calls. I finally successfully scheduled an appointment for 3 PM. Did the deed.
The test results came back this morning. All is negative. I don't have it. There's no indication I've ever had it. No reason to believe I'll ever have it. It's a false positive. He said it is not unusual for the Red Cross to have false positive results. Although, in fairness to wife MD, I did learn it's not part of normal blood testing for a physical to also test for hepatitis. so nothing would have shown up in February after all. Score one for wife MD.
The good news has spread quickly. I've received congratulatory emails and phones calls from all the informed parties. Everyone is quite relieved. That's sweet. So, that's the end of it? Again, you know better.
Received an email from wife MD. "I'm thinking. What if our family doctor's test is wrong? How do we know which test is right? Is it the doctor's? Or is it the Red Cross'? Who has the more sophisticated testing? The Red Cross or our doctor? How do we know? Oh my."
Arrggghh. So, I scheduled a retest for October.
The only thing that really upsets me about this whole deal is the Red Cross states if I receive two positive results (even false positives), they can no longer accept my blood. I can donate, but only for personal use. Seems a little unfair. Although i can see where they can't take the chance of issuing contaminated blood. Duh. I get that. It's just disappointing - through no fault of mine - there could come a point in time I can no longer give my fair share. I feel better after giving. Guess time will tell.
This saga is over for now. Stay tuned for an October update. I am so glad I gave my family something productive to do over the weekend.