A Hepatitis C Diagnosis and a Second Chance
Randy learned his past threatened his future after he was diagnosed with hepatitis C.
A Little Bit Country, a Little Bit Rock ‘n’ Roll
Randy’s life may be one to envy – he turned his passion for playing the drums into a paid music gig, touring with a country band in his teens and early 20s. When Randy met his future wife, Lisa, everything changed. He left his past behind to marry and start a family. Years later, one test given as part of a routine life insurance evaluation threw his future into doubt – Randy had hepatitis C. Now Randy has a second chance, here’s why:
Randy: I started playing professionally with a band when I was about 15 years old. I liked rock music but down in that part of Florida, country music's what paid. This group that I was with at the time, they were speed addicts. They would pull them up into the syringes and we'd all shoot speed. And then I had a salvation experience when I was 22 years old and my life changed. I'm just so thankful that I met Lisa.
Lisa: I just knew that we were going to be married. I even told my friend. I said, "Hey, I'm going to marry that guy."
Randy: It's like my vision just zoomed right in and everything else just blurred out and all I saw was her face.
Lisa: He said, "What do you think about getting married?" and I was like "okay." We've been married almost 34 years.
Randy: I've straightened out, I don't have the drug problems, the substance abuse problems anymore. Life's good. I didn't realize I had HCV for 15, 20 years, maybe 30 years. My thoughts were I've got just a few years to live and I'm probably not going to see my kids grow up. I'm probably not going to see my grandkids.
Lisa: It was getting worse, in my opinion.
Randy: When I found out I was cured, I was elated. I was just happy and just rejoicing and just like wow that's finally lifted off me and I don't have to deal with that anymore. Life is great.
Super: * Cure means hepatitis C virus is not detectable in the blood three months after treatment ends. Individual results may vary.
Lisa: Well, I knew I was going to have him around a long time.
Randy: My philosophy is we never know when our time is up. We do not know how much time we have on this Earth. It's hard to explain but this is life as it should be. When I'm doing that, I feel like I'm exactly in my element and doing what I'm supposed to do in life.
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