Call for Action Helps a Veteran

Loganville - Many people who contract hepatitis C can eventually have chronic liver damage that can lead to a transplant or even to cancer, so a newly approved treatment out on the market is changing lives. A Fox 5 viewer says he got the virus during his military service. And when this treatment was approved late last year, he - like millions of others with the virus - got excited. But, he says, he had trouble getting his hands on it.  That is until his family reached out to Fox 5's “Call for Action” team.

Jerry Davis pulls out pictures from his Vietnam War days.  It was a long time ago, but the effects still linger.  He says that's where he contracted the virus hepatitis C.

“He served the country. He has a Purple Heart, and I felt like he deserved just as much chance as anybody else,” said his daughter Kristy Davis.

They both wanted a chance to possibly cure his hepatitis C with this breakthrough drug, but they both say they couldn't get the Veteran's Administration to move quickly enough to get his access.

“My Dad had been asking for the medication for about a year. Since it came out. They kept saying, 'No not now',” she said.

But, they say his failing health meant they needed to move quickly. Frustrated, Kristy Davis called Fox 5's “Call for Action” unit. You've met them: Our all-volunteer group who solves problems you can't solve yourself. They got hold of Susan Bowie the group's director.  The national “Call for Action” group has developed a relationship with the VA to help veterans with problems like this. And it's working.  

His daughter grinned ear to ear, “And the next week we were in there getting his medication.”

So, for a few weeks now, Jerry Davis has been taking Harvoni to see if it will diminish the effects of his hepatitis C, maybe even cure it. Even though Kristy Davis reached out to Fox 5's “Call for Action” team, she thought it would take a while to get an appointment much less the treatment.

“I was kind of skeptical. I was, like, OK, but no she did. She took care of it.”

If you need help with a problem or want to volunteer, reach out to the team at http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/i-team/10084790-story