Leading an Academic Department During a Critical Illness: One Chair’s Story

Our specialty is linked to a number of occupational hazards. My story began almost 35 years ago; it was in the era when we did not wear gloves and needle sticks were frequent. This was the time of non-A, non-B hepatitis, which often ended up actually being hepatitis C (HCV). My health was really not impaired in the early years of Type 1 HCV. I still worked out daily and was viewed as being fit. My physicians and I used watchful waiting and intermittent liver biopsies to decide upon best next steps for me. Type 1 HCV has always been difficult to cure; it was my hope that my lifespan would not be altered by my HCV and I could avoid treatment. During the summer of 2011, a new three-drug regimen for HCV was approved by the FDA, and my hepatologist and I elected to treat my disease due to...