Last May I found out I had contracted hepatitis C. I had been getting a needle for something else when the nurse was taking the needle out. She accidentally poked herself with it so the doctor asked me to go and get a blood test to make sure I did not have AIDS or hepatitis C. I was really scared at first, because after I found out all I heard on TV was that people die from it.

I live with seven other people, six of them are men. Their names are Gary, David, Ken, Darren & Nick. The girl's name is Nicole. I get along with them all. Nick is my boyfriend. We broke up on March 9th. Sometimes, it still hurts, because we went out with each other for almost 5 years. It might not hurt so badly if he hadn't decided to go out with Nicole shortly after we broke up. Sometimes, I don't think they think I have any feelings. And, for some stupid reason I still care what happens to both of them because they are my friends. I hope it stays that way. But, most of the time they act like I don't exist, because they are in their own little world.

This is my life to date.

Jackie.

Background Information

This story is about a woman's life. It's about her struggle with illness and disability and how she made a life for herself. Talk about what living with a disability means to you. Talk about what it might be (or is) like living in constant pain and under the threat of death. How would you live your life?

Questions

1. What disease did Jackie have as a baby?

2. What did doctors have to do to remove fluid from Jackie's brain?

3. How old was Jackie when she got a wheelchair?

4. What is a correspondence school?

5. What did doctors tell Jackie when she was 13?

6. Do you think her mother should have stayed with Jackie while she was in the hospital? Why or why not?

7. What does transfer mean in this story?

8. Why did Jackie have surgery on her back?

9. How did Jackie find out she had Hepatitis C?

10. Why do you think Nick and Jackie broke up?