When Kevin was diagnosed with The Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) in December of 1997 he and his wife Tina did not
know what HCV was. While trying to learn about the disease and how he may have acquired it, Kevin began
to come across some strange occurrences. After a month of intense research he had a few folders filled with
information loaded down from the Internet and printed out. He soon found his sick friends and started to think about why they were all ill. Kevin could not answer Mark's question about how HBV mutated to HCV. He also could not tell his wife what an Adenovirus was. It was upon the coarse of trying to answer these two questions that funny things started to happen to Kevin and his phones and computer. Instantly top government people began to respond through E-mailings and phone calls. All wiggled like worms but continued to call Kevin.

Why?

You did not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that this level of response would of been unheard of if
Kevin was just some nut with a bizzare conspiracy theory. All Kevin did was start to ask questions. Nothing
more, nothing less. The questions made many top people very uncomfortable. Kevin did not know why. He did not have a theory and look to prove it as many originally thought. He had facts and looked to develop a theory from those facts. No one could deny that he and two other friends were sick more than twenty years later with the same illness. No one could explain it.

Some have tried to discredit Kevin and his theory but none have been able to. If Kevin is wrong he will be the first to admit it. Prove Kevin wrong! Just explain why his Army friends and he are ill and then he will "just fade away" as old soldiers do (General Douglas MacArthur). Until then get out of his way if you are not going to help him get a full accounting of this entire problem from those responsible to explain it to us! With out a full accounting we will never be able to fully and honestly access and deal with the HCV problem in America and the World today.

These areas that must be addressed include prioritizing objectives and accessing and evaluating areas of;
National Funding amounts, Research Grants to whom?, Support Services for patients at Community levels,
HCV Education for Professionals and Teaching Institutions, Public Awareness and HCV Civil Rights protection
and enforcement, Image and Perception of the HCV community of itself and from others outside the
community. Remember this is America. If you package it pretty people will buy it! People do not want Dragons!
Nothing personal against the fine beasts it is just that they do not help our image to others that do not
understand the Dragon. Many mainstream Americans collect Unicorn trinkets. They are considered "cute".
Dragon collectors might be considered a more "liberal" element during a political time period of National
"right-wing" leaning politics and policies.

Go with the flow at first. It is easier to get moving. Once we are moving as a group then the HCV movement
can be more specifically concentrated and directed by responsible persons chosen by us to represent our
cause efficiently. Our leadership must be willing to accept and treat all HCV sufferers as equal and deserving
of the compassion and care a human being is entitled to. Regardless of sex, race, religion, creed, birth origin, etc.. We are all in this together and need each others help to gain the strength needed to get what is necessary for us all.
 

We Americans must realize that we have most of the computers in the world and have a chance to show
leadership to others world wide that need our help. We can easily get information and send it instantly to the
one and only computer in a small village in the Amazon Rain forest of Brazil. This is a true story. The person
takes the information from their printer and distributes it around the local countryside. Without that information hundreds of people in just that small region of the world would be denied help and education. We have a responsibility to lead as a Nation in this area and we should do it.

Kevin was advised at one point to keep a journal of his activities and a record of his contacts. In order to do
that he wrote a story outline one night to a good friend. He began, "Dear friend, I have written you a bedtime
story and it includes a canal.". From that point forth the Panama Story was born. It simply became a way of
putting together all the information about HCV, HBV, 1942, Yellow Fever, Aboriginal Antigens, B to C mutation
or conversion theory, Adenovirus, etc,... There was so much information from such vast fields of knowledge
that a concise story seemed appropriate. The original outline was sent to about ten people. From the outline
Kevin developed a story to hold the readers interest. 95 percent of the information is true and accurate.

The Panama Story did not start out to be twenty chapters long. Kevin simply typed until the story was told.
It was suppose to be five or six chapters. At certain points he would go through his folders and include
information into the story. Once the folders were empty of all the information Kevin had The Panama Story
completed.  From this point forward begins "The Panama Story II, Into The Next Century". Since the future has
not occurred yet, it obviously has not been written about at this time. If Kevin is wrong then you will see that
in writing from him. Consequently, if he is right, look for The Panama Story III, Why Did it Take This Long?

The Panama Story was also written as a vehicle to teach and help HCV sufferers understand their disorder
better. The story traveled through time and history as well as around the globe because it was a fun thing to
do. The planet Earth is an interconnected living cell that reflects the cause-and-effect principle. What occurs
on the planet has an effect on everything else within the cell. What someone did a hundred years ago does
matter and is related to who you are today. What happened in a laboratory 56 years ago affects who you are
today, an HCV sufferer. An HCV sufferer could be someone not positive for HCV. It could be a family member
or a friend. It could be someone else affected by your HCV like your employer or co-workers.

With history, in order to know where you are going you must know where you have been. If you ride in a car
and look out the back window (past history) you will be able to see where you have just come from. From that
information you can infer or guess the direction you are going forward (into the future). You can infer the third side of the missing piece of the triangle within a reasonable certainty using triangulation. Or you can infer the few missing pieces of The Panama Story puzzle using your common sense.

Kevin also wrote the story to assist veterans and their families. Many veterans have been abandoned by our
government and it's system designed to assist them. They are, The Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), and
The Veterans Benefits Assistance (VBA). The DVA (VA for short) is suppose to help veterans with medical
health care. The VBA pays the compensation, disability and disability retirement pensions to veterans. They
deal with the money side. Kevin has been a soldier for almost 23 years and never knew this! Why were Kevin
and other veterans not told the system for applying for benefits. Why do we see million dollar commercials
every year during the super bowl recruiting young people but not a penny is spent in any media outlet to
educate or assist veterans. When was the last time you saw a commercial for the VA? Never!

The Greatest Military Force in the history of this planet and the honorable veterans that made that force happen are mistreated and ignored by the government. This has been going on through America's entire history concerning the mistreatment of veterans. Deny and delay! Accuse and duck! Tuskeegee Syphilis Testing, Atomic Radiation Testing, LSD Testing on soldiers, Germ Warfare testing in civilian cities, Agent Orange, Gulf War Syndrome, etc... Now HCV! In every case most of the soldiers have died before they or their families were awarded anything. When they ask you to "die for your country" they really mean it!

To anyone who is not a veteran please understand that the veteran does not ask to be compensated for himself but for his family that has sacrificed and now must suffer. The veteran is concerned about what happens to their loved ones after they are gone. Most are or have been dedicated to giving their lives in defense of this Nation. Their concern is for those left back home. If you are sent around the world to protect "our way of life" then you do so knowing that you may die but your family is taken care of. This has not been happening. It eventually affects the overall morale of the fighting force.

To learn that the U.S. Military may be the originator of HCV is stunning to say the least. However, it is not
surprising to learn. To ask the Pentagon to answer any of these questions about 1942 or HCV would show a
tremendous lack of knowledge concerning the mission of the Pentagon. They are responsible for today's
military missions world wide! Period! The military does not run the government in a democracy. The civilians
do! The civilians are appointed by people elected by you. To get answers about the military ask the civilians
in charge!

The military must protect itself and the image of a strong efficient fighting force. This is in the best interest
of the Nation as a whole and for our Foreign Policy objectives. We are who we are, Americans, because we
have had a military that has allowed us to remain free throughout our history. Do not blame the men and
women in uniform. Blame those that decide what their jobs will be. Blame those that willingly accept leadership positions in our government and then fail to lead. Blame us for allowing this to happen. We put these people there.

The message to this story is failed leadership! When the people that are responsible for our safety decide that it is in our best interest not to inform us or purposely mislead us then the system has broken down. When those in a position of "public trust" violate that trust great harm can be done to many innocent people. Five million people could end up sick in America alone. 200 million could end up sick around the world! See my point?

Could you imagine going into a city like Chicago of five million citizens and have no one able to tell you what
that city's name was? What if they all said they were told to call their city different names by their elected City
Counsel and the Mayor? Everyone would be all confused. This would only occur if someone decided it would.
Why are five million people with HCV in America confused and going five million different directions? It is not
an accident!

If anyone believes that the Drug Companies are looking for a cure then you need to study corporations in a
capitalist free-market enterprise system. It is not in their interest. The argument is that they get to do what they want or else they can not exist as a company and will not be able to provide jobs to workers. The workers and the taxes from the business are spent in the economy, thereby creating a constantly flowing supply of money. If business makes too much money then government will take some away for it's own use in the name of the people. If that money is not used wisely then it is wasted.

The Drug Companies do not want to make a pill to cure five million people overnight. There would not be any
after-market to produce revenues and derive profits from. Revenues are needed to pay the bills for the "cost of doing business". If you want to stay in business you need a constant revenue supply (pipeline) of money. Interferon achieves this objective. Interferon does not cure you but it is the only FDA licensed product to treat HCV. "Here is a Band-Aid" is what they are really saying to us. The government says there is not a cure but give these Drug Companies millions of dollars? Why? The Drug Companies lobby and contribute heavily financially to State and Federal campaigns with our money that we give them. They use our money to influence legislation in their favor not to better our interests! Kevin smells a dirty rat! Someone better have some answers!

If you were driving in a car and were a passenger in the rear seat while the driver drove the vehicle off the road and through hills and dales then you might want to stop the car and change drivers. The present group of leaders responsible for HCV research and educating the public have failed and failed us miserably. In fact it will cost many of us our lives! It is time for them to leave and be replaced. They can not argue any longer that they are the men to lead this nation into the next century when they have helped cover this all up. Do not listen any longer to their promises of a cure. We have heard it for ten years while they enhanced their own positions based on our HCV illness.

Time to retire Dr. Purcell! Time to admit what you know Dr. Leonard Seeff. Time to come clean CDC, FDA, NIH,
and especially the VA! Let us not forget the Surgeon General's Office and Health and Human Services. We can ask the Generals over at the Pentagon to ensure the safety of our men and women in uniform today. We ask this knowing that it has not been done in the past. These are the Agencies responsible for our continued HCV problem and sickness in this country. What are we going to do about it? Let them waste millions of our money on themselves, friends, and career enhancers? Are you going to let them get away with this? Kevin is not!

Want to join him? There is still time left in the American Century where any and everything is possible
including controlling our own destiny!

A Manifest Destiny granted to us by God.
 
 

Kevin Drue Donnelly
1998