Posted: 5-Jan-2007 << BACK
The Mirror 28 December 2006
LAST CHRISTMAS WHEN PETER NOWAK FELL ILL HE HAD NO IDEA A CRASH 30 YEARS BEFORE HAD GIVEN HIM A DEATH SENTENCE
By Olivia Holcombe
SITTING with his daughters on the sofa, unwrapping his presents, Peter Nowak was overcome with emotion. With all his family around him on Christmas Day he should have been at his happiest. But knowing he might not live to see another one the frail father was moved to tears by his family's thoughtful gifts.
The 53-year-old dad collapsed and died just four days later - a year ago today - after he was struck down by an infection brought on by Hepatitis C.
The Nowaks' Christmas had begun like any other with the girls, Kiri and Kalina, waking early. But instead of noisily rushing downstairs they and mum Gaye let Peter sleep in and opened their gifts as a family later that morning. Although Peter had been dogged by ill health for 30 years it was only four months earlier that he had been diagnosed with Hepatitis C - a blood-borne disease that affects the liver.
Peter's health problems began in October 1979 after a car crash when his steering failed as he was going too fast around a corner. Gaye, 51, explains: "He very nearly died. He was in intensive care and it was touch and go for days. He nearly lost his legs and needed a blood transfusion. "The accident left him with a skin graft on his ankle, which was still healing when he was discharged three months later. I was so grateful that he'd survived and we could start enjoying married life at last."
Putting the accident behind them the couple went on to have daughters Kiri, now 19, and Kalina, 16. However, over the years Peter, an advertising executive from Camberley, Surrey, suffered from recurring pain and mood swings. "He sometimes felt tired and had flu-like symptoms but at the time we didn't see the connection with any illness," says Gaye. "Most bizarre of all, his stomach would swell up. I used to jokingly tell him to go on a diet because he was piling on the pounds."
Peter never considered any of his symptoms to be serious enough to see his GP about. So it wasn't until his stomach ballooned to an alarming size in early 2004 that he sought medical help.
"The doctor carried out a blood test on Dad and when the results came back it suggested a slight discrepancy in his liver, so the GP wrote to the local hospital for advice," remembers Kalina. "We're not sure what happened - either the hospital didn't write back, or the GP didn't chase them for information so his illness remained undiagnosed."
It was only when Peter developed a serious leg infection in August 2005 that he was admitted to hospital and a blood test revealed Hepatitis C. Peter had never been exposed to needles through drug abuse or tattooing, there was only one explanation, his blood transfusion nearly 30 years earlier. "As soon as they told us, it just clicked," says Gaye. "The swollen tummy, tiredness, moodiness and flu-like symptoms had all been because of Hepatitis C. We were horrified to learn that doctors didn't screen donated blood for Peter's condition before 1992, so occasionally people were unwittingly given infected blood."
Alarmingly, oblivious to the disease, Peter had drunk and smoked socially for most of his adult life, two things Hepatitis C sufferers are strongly advised to quit. "When he found out he did his best to stay positive, but he started to look really ill - pale, tired and skinny, not like Dad anymore," Kalina says. "His liver couldn't filter out toxins and waste products so they had to keep draining fluid from his stomach through a catheter. But, within weeks, the fluid just kept building up again."
The normal treatment for Hepatitis C is a year-long round of injections and tablets, which cures half of all sufferers, but because Peter's illness had gone unnoticed for so long the prognosis was not good. "The doctors discovered Dad had developed cirrhosis of the liver and he was too ill to undergo the treatment," says Kiri sadly. Peter's liver was in such a bad state that he was put on the transplant waiting-list and sent home for Christmas. Determined to make it as special as possible, Gaye, Kiri and Kalina tried to be upbeat.
"We were dismayed that things were so bad, but also hopeful that he'd soon receive a transplant," says Gaye. "So we focused on making Christmas special. I'll never forget us all sitting on the sofa unwrapping our presents like we did every year," adds Kiri. "When Kalina and I gave Dad our present, he broke down in tears and said how much he loved us. We'd made him a DVD with film clips of us competing in sports competitions, all set to favourite songs like You'll Never Walk Alone."
Although he was terribly weak, Peter hadn't lost his appetite and could still tuck into turkey with all the trimmings - and his favourite, Christmas pudding. After lunch he sat at the table and thanked us for being so supportive.
"We were all really choked up but tried to be optimistic about the future. We were sure that once Dad got a liver transplant then things would look up," remembers Kalina.
But when he woke on December 27 Peter complained of indigestion. Gaye recalls: "I kept asking if he was OK and he'd say he was fine. But by that evening he was worried enough to agree we should call the hospital in the morning."
The following morning, Gaye called the liver support nurse at King's College Hospital, South East London, and explained about Peter's stomach pains. A doctor called back at 10am and told her to bring him in. Peter was able to say goodbye to his daughters before he set off.
"Dad was delirious and acting strangely," says Kiri. "I said goodbye, that I loved him, and I gave him a kiss. But it felt strange, as if I should say goodbye again - it was almost like deep down I knew it would be the last time I'd see him."
Terrifyingly, halfway to London, Peter passed out in the car but Gaye had no choice but to keep driving until she reached hospital. "I was panicking so much that I got lost," Gaye remembers. "When I finally arrived at the hospital, I stood by the car shouting for help to lift him out, but no one came for ages - deep down I knew it was too late and that he'd already passed away."
Gaye later learned that Peter died of a massive stomach infection that his damaged liver couldn't cope with.
"In a way, I blamed myself for months afterwards. If only I'd called an ambulance instead of driving him - but the doctors insisted that he was so ill by that point that they couldn't have saved him."
Since then, the Nowaks have not only had to come to terms with Peter's death, but also the fact that it could have been prevented.
"We're so frustrated that Dad's symptoms weren't picked up sooner," says Kiri. "And we're also angry that more hasn't been done to trace people who had blood transfusions before 1992."
Gaye, Kiri and Kalina have been tested for Hepatitis C and given the all-clear. But it is little comfort for the family who feel tragedy could so easily have been prevented.
"The government needs to do more to raise awareness," says Kiri. "They should test people who've had transfusions. If Dad had only had a simple blood test earlier, he'd probably still be with us this Christmas."
THE FACTS
WHAT IS HEPATITIS C?
A BLOOD-BORNE virus that principally affects the liver. Liver damage typically occurs slowly over 20-30 years and can lead to scarring (fibrosis), cirrhosis and ultimately cancer or liver failure and death. Liver disease is the fifth-biggest cause of mortality in the UK.
SYMPTOMS
FATIGUE, pain in the liver area, digestive problems, concentration difficulties ("brain fog") and flu-like symptoms. Some people experience only a few or none at all or put them down to stress. The presence or absence of symptoms is no indication of how much damage the virus is causing. This has led to Hepatitis C being termed "The Silent Killer".
PROGNOSIS
WHILE some people clear the virus in the very early stages, most will develop a long-term or "chronic" infection. The course of the disease is then very variable. One person may have no liver damage after 20 years while another will develop cirrhosis and subsequently liver failure or liver cancer. Hepatitis C is potentially life-threatening but can take as long as 30 years before it starts to cause significant damage.
ADVICE
TO slow the progression people should: Cut out or significantly reduce alcohol intake Eat a well-balanced diet with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, and avoid foods containing additives and pesticides Ensure you get enough rest and sleep Try to exercise For more information, contact Hepatitis C Trust 0870 2001 200/www.hepctrust.org.uk
