Wednesday, 29 July 2015

700 Silent Voices

Another World Hepatitis Day passes us by, same old same old ! A handful of people sharing posts, a few retweets, a couple of likes, the odd fav. Out of 700 people that are connected to me here on Twitter, 80% of which, are involved in one drug and alcohol org or another... 'Advocates !'


I can understand folks not bothering with my stuff, when someone bangs on and on about a certain subject, it can be a turn off, I get that, but from my own observations there is absolutely no sense of the Drug and Alcohol community uniting on this crucial day, a day which in my opinion, addresses the biggest harm reduction issue facing addicts and their families


Addaction, has been involved with testing service users for a while now and I praise them for that. Drug and alcohol services are the front line, the obvious place to help people come to terms with the possibility of hepatitis. Scotland seems well ahead of the UK on this score, with talk of pharmacy's offering hep c testing as well as lots of in-house testing for service users.


Its a very delicate subject, no doubt, nobody wants to be the bearer of such bad news, D&A are about the business of drugs and alcohol and all the issues this encompasses, so let the hospitals deal with hep c detection ? We need a tailored hybrid services to face this viral epidemic in my opinion, we also need drug companies to start putting people before profit, because of such companies hospitals are no longer in a position to offer everyone treatment, even if we could get everyone tested only a handful would qualify for these expensive drugs, its disgraceful, its the perfect storm !


Does this mean we might as well give up, does it fuck ! If the people involved in the drug and alcohol sector, wont grasp the nettle, then who the hell will ?


Peace

Monday, 27 July 2015

World Hepatitis Day 2015

Well here we are again, the eve of World Hepatitis Day. Whilst I have not posted on here for quite a while, I have kept up the hep c awareness each year since clearing the virus, last year it was Helvellyn via Striding Edge...


This year its either Kinder Scout or Win Hill depending on how my knee holds up on the day lol.


I turned my focus to drug recovery after coming off the methadone that helped me through the 5 yrs it took to do two rounds of hep c treatment, I ended my script three months after completing the 3 Peaks Challenge, on the day after my birthday ( best birthday present I ever gave myself.)


Walking gave me a focus during hep c treatment, walking up mountains took it to another level. I could have never imagined that I would find it so enjoyable, its something I shall continue to do for as long as my body will allow.


So please, if you read this post, help me by sharing the blog, so others may see its never too late to turn your life around and if your wondering about getting tested, just do it ! There are lots of services around the country offering free hepatitis c testing tomorrow 28.7.15,  check out 'Addaction' they are all over the country and are testing tomorrow.


My walk celebrates the process of treatment and recovery, from hep c and addiction, after 30 years I am thankfully clear of both, I wish the same for you !




Peace







Wednesday, 26 September 2012

My Gold Medal award

Well I've said about all I can, about hep c  & how it effected my life & how I think people at risk should be tested & so on.

There comes a point were it's time to start over & put certian things behind you. People tell me, " you'd make a great Councillor," well that maybe so, but for now I've decided to begin again.

No doubt it won't be long before I'm writing another blog about one thing or another, I find it a good way of getting to grips with a subject, especially one that aims to help others. Speaking of others I was absolutely blown away by a little parcel I received in the post a short while back. A friend had asked for my address, initially I had agreed she could send it to my local post office ( I had previously given my address to one on fb, with the promise of a gift from another & yet nothing came ), so I had made a rule that I would do it, no more !

The post office held onto it for a couple of days & then sent it back from whence it came, oh & they told me not to use them for such transactions in future, oh what a mess, lol. So I gave my address to this friend & this is what I received...


From Jo Morgan to Peter Moore
My son & I joke about my gift of zeitgeist  but this time it was bang on, not only had I chosen the 100th anniversary of Scott's trip to the Antarctic to create my own expedition, I had picked the same day as the opening ceremony of the Olympics to begin our challenge, not to mention the fact that the oylimpic flame was carried to the summit of Snowdon by one of my hero's Chris Bonington just days before I would set foot on the same summit. The Paralympic flame also followed this theme by using the same 3 peaks plus one in Ireland ( Slieve Donard ) only this time the scouts would create a fire on each mountain & then carry them down to eventually meet up at Stoke Mandeville. You can't turn around for programs on mountains, Prince Harrys men on Everest, Griff Rhys giving it a go, Julia Bradbury lost on Mickldore just as I was... 

The mountains have saved my life or at least helped me create the best chance of a longer happier lifestyle. I will continue to climb, walk & scramble up them for as long as my legs will allow. I bloody love it ! & hell I even deserved a medal in at least one persons eyes... Thank you Jo Morgan your a great friend to have, I know & you know, just what we've been through ;-)

Peace

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