Katie's story can best to told by the press

Read the story about Katie's Fight to Slay the Dragon featured in the March/April 2007 Six 78th Magazine. A new junior high lifestyle magazine Click here to read the story now Information in PDF format so you must have Acrobat Reader to view and print it.

YORK - Four years ago, Robert Prouty received news that would change his life.

After becoming seriously ill, Prouty learned he had contracted hepatitis C as a result of a blood transfusion during his military service in 1976.

Now, almost exactly 30 years after the virus first entered her father’s bloodstream, 14-year-old Katie Prouty is spending all her spare time organizing a community road race to raise money and awareness for research and prevention of the disease.

A daughter’s crusade

"My dad has hepatitis C, and millions of Americans have it because the screening of blood did not begin until 1992. People who got blood transfusions back then didn’t know about hepatitis C," Katie said, sitting on the floor of her family’s York home as she organized fliers and paperwork for the race.

The York High School freshman, who is also an avid gymnast, decided at the end of the summer that she wanted to do something to get the word out about a disease that has changed her father’s life.

One of the problems with awareness of the hepatitis C infection, Katie and her father said, is the disease can take between 20 and 30 years to manifest any symptoms.

"The disease is nicknamed The Black Dragon because it is like a dragon waiting in its lair until it has enough power and then it attacks," Katie said.

It is from that nickname that Katie derived the name for the race she is planning with the assistance of friends, family, York Parks and Recreation and other school and community officials.

The race, which is scheduled for Sunday, May 21, is called the Dragon Slayer 6K Road Race, and will include a fun run for children 12 and under, as well as divisions for wheelchairs, walkers and a variety of ages.

Katie’s longtime friend, Lydia Friar, is assisting her as co-director of the race.

Lydia, who is also a freshman at York High School, said the decision to help Katie organize the event was an easy one.

"I’ve always seen Bob going through this and I wanted to help out," she said.

Lydia came up with the slogan for the race: "Be a knight. Slay the dragon."

The Black Dragon

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the hepatitis C virus is the most common chronic bloodborne infection in the United States.

The CDC reports that studies indicate nearly 4 million Americans have been infected with the virus, while only about 1 million know it, Katie said.

Hepatitis C can result in chronic liver disease, which is listed as the 10th leading cause of death for adults in the nation, according to the CDC.

The CDC Web site states that most people infected with hepatitis C are between 30 and 49 years old.

Bob Prouty is 49.

"I’m very proud of her," Bob said of Katie’s efforts. "She wanted to do something to raise awareness of hepatitis C."

Katie said that for individuals like her father, who is a candidate for a liver transplant, hepatitis C remains a constant threat.

Because it is carried through the blood, Katie said, it will attack a new liver.

However, Bob Prouty is not alone among veterans battling the disease.

According to HCVets.com, a Web site created by U.S. military veterans who, like Bob, contracted the hepatitis C virus during military service, one in every 10 veterans has been infected with the virus.

"Each hour of every day, three people die from hepatitis C or its related conditions," the Web site states. "Two of these people have military backgrounds."

A 1999 study by the Veterans Health Administration cited on the Web site indicates up to 10 percent of all veterans in the health administration’s system had, at that time, been diagnosed with the virus.

Although Bob is a fully disabled veteran, the Proutys were recently notified in writing that the Veterans Administration has declined to pay for a liver transplant.

While her road race is focusing on raising hepatitis C awareness, Katie said she also hopes to send a message to the Veterans Administration.

"I think the Veterans Administration should take a step back and look at how many lives they’re destroying by just not giving the veterans the support they deserve for entering the service," she said.

A group effort

Katie said the community support for her efforts to date has been very positive - including the assistance of Robin Cogger of York Parks and Recreation, York High School staff members, the York Police Department and Stephanie and Tony Retrosi of Atlantic Gymnastics, where Katie trains.

"They’re pretty much like a second family to me," she said. "They’ve taught me that pretty much anything is possible."

It is that attitude that has most impressed Katie’s parents about the work she and Lydia have put into organizing the race.

"I think I’m in awe that they’re taking on such a large task as just another achievable thing they can do," said Katie’s mom, Cindy Prouty. "It’s just amazing."

There is much work to be done, Katie said, and she and Lydia hope that local businesses and members of the community will sign on to help with the effort.

They are in the process of having the race sanctioned by the U.S. Track and Field Association. They will have timers on race day, and will be awarding prizes. There are overhead costs such as printing fliers and T-shirts, as well as providing water for the race participants.

Katie estimated about $2,000 will be needed to get the race off and running. Once those overhead costs are covered, she said, all donations will go to the New England Chapter of the American Liver Foundation. Donations are tax deductible.

Atlantic Gymnastics is offering the first of what Katie hopes will be many race prizes: A birthday party package for the winner of the children’s Fun Run.

The message is an important one, Katie and Lydia both stressed, but the event itself is going to be about fun and community.

The pair will even be contacting celebrities who have hepatitis C - including Pamela Anderson and Naomi Judd.

"We want to make people aware of what is going on with hepatitis C," Katie said, "and to raise money for research."

Through those funds, Lydia said, "Ultimately, we want to help find a cure."

The teens said they hope the Dragon Slayer 6K will be an annual event, and their younger siblings are already stepping up to take over when they graduate from York High School and go on to college.

Katie said she is counting on her 9-year-old brother, Matthew, and 7-year-old sister, Becca, to take over, with the help of Lydia’s younger brother, Elliot.

"Once I graduate from York High School, I am hoping they will take over and I will come home from college to be present at the race," Katie said.

Matthew said that is what they plan to do.

"I hope in the future Dragon Slayer will be a huge charity for hepatitis C," Elliot added.

Becca, who is in second grade, said she is very proud of her big sister.

"Katie’s working on this for my dad and for hepatitis C," Becca said. "It makes me feel good because it will find a way to help my dad and he won’t have any liver problems anymore. He won’t have to go to Boston anymore, or to a place far away."

As Katie put it, "I want future generations to view hepatitis C like our generation views polio - with a quizzical look, as if it never existed."

To learn of ways to help, call 363-8711. To make a donation, send a check payable to Dragon Slayer 6K to 18 Old Mast Road, York, ME, 03909.

What is hepatitis C?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define hepatitis C as a disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Hepatitis C is believed to be the cause of 40 percent of the cases of chronic liver disease in the United States, causing an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 deaths each year.

Are you at risk?

According to the CDC, risk factors for hepatitis C (HCV) include:

• Receiving blood from a donor who later tested positive for hepatitis C.
• Injecting illegal drugs at any time, even years ago.
• Receiving a blood transfusion or organ transplant before July 1992.
• Receiving clotting factors made before 1987.
• Long-term kidney dialysis.
• Evidence of liver disease.

The CDC advises individuals at risk for hepatitis C to contact their medical care providers for a blood test.

Source: cdc.gov

Local teen hopes to slay the dragon
By Jennifer L. Saunders
jsaunders@seacoastonline.com

YORK - All you need to know to help a local teen in her efforts to make hepatitis C a disease of the past is now just a click away.

York High School freshman Katie Prouty has spent the past six months working to organize the Dragon Slayer 6K Road Race to raise money and awareness for the prevention of hepatitis C.

Katie’s father, 49-year-old Bob Prouty, was diagnosed with the disease several years ago - decades after he contracted it during his military service.

Bob is awaiting a liver transplant.

With the support of her family and friends, York High School staff, the York Parks and Recreation Department, York Police Department and Atlantic Gymnastics - to name a few - Prouty has a race date set and continues to register local runners and walkers for the event.

This month, the Dragon Slayer 6K Road Race Web site came online, and registration and donation information is available via the Internet at www.dragonslayer6K.org with hosting donated by Crystal Vision.

The race is scheduled for Sunday, May 21, and will include a fun run for children 12 and under and separate divisions for wheelchairs, walkers and various ages.

And Katie has been invited to speak at the March on D.C., which will be held in May to raise awareness of hepatitis C.

Tricia Lupole, national director of the Hepatitis C Movement for Awareness, contacted the Proutys after learning about Katie’s race to invite Katie to speak at the event.

"Thanks again for your devotion to family and country, a rare thing to see in someone your age," Lupole wrote in her invitation to Katie, adding, "you will be very successful in life, because you get it now."

Katie’s goal is to help others, like her father, who are battling the disease and to encourage anyone who may be at risk to be tested.

"All proceeds of this race will go to the American Liver Foundation to help fund research for a cure for hepatitis C," Katie said as she began organizing the race events. "My father has hepatitis C and it has impacted our family’s life greatly in a negative way."

In a statement Katie included on the new Web site, she said that her research shows that a staggering number of people have hepatitis C.

"In our country there are approximately 4 million people with hepatitis C and only about 1 million people know about it," Katie wrote. "The disease is spreading and it needs to be stopped. Please, support the research that will stop HCV."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the hepatitis C virus is the most common chronic bloodborne infection in the country and can result in chronic liver disease, the 10th leading cause of death for adults in the nation.

The CDC Web site states that most people infected with hepatitis C are between 30 and 49 years old.

A 1999 study by the Veterans Health Administration indicates that up to 10 percent of all veterans in the administration’s system had been diagnosed with the virus.

Bob Prouty’s story, as it is retold on the Dragon Slayer 6K Web site, mirrors those statistics.

In 1975, at the age of 18, he joined the Army.

"During Bob’s service he was injured in a jeep explosion while he was transporting ammunition," the story reads. "... There were many surgeries. During the first surgery, Bob received a blood transfusion as a result of the loss of blood during the life-threatening accident."

More than two decades later, he was diagnosed with hepatitis C by the Veterans Administration, the story reads, but was not notified.

He did not learn he carried the disease until several years later, in 2002.

"Now Bob waits, like a tattered American flag flying in a hurricane. He still declares that he’s proud to be an American. He believes that this is the best country in the world. He firmly believes that his service career benefited the rights, freedoms and liberties of American citizens," the story reads. "He is confused and bewildered by the treatment that he has received from the VA."

Bob Prouty has been approved for a liver transplant, but was notified the VA would not cover the costs associated with the procedure.

To those ends, Katie Prouty said, she is hoping to raise awareness through her friends and neighbors of the disease and help not only her father but other veterans who now battle hepatitis C.

Proceeds from the race will be donated to the New England Chapter of the American Liver Foundation and all donations are tax deductible.

For more on the March on D.C., visit March On DC.com.

Teen Determined To Get Father Liver Transplant
By Tory Ryden News 8 WMTW
POSTED: 1:41 pm EST February 24, 2006

YORK, Maine -- Every girl dreams of having her father walk her down the aisle on her wedding day. One York County girl just hopes her father will be there.

Katie Prouty’s dad has hepatitis C. Now she is on a mission to get the disease on the radar and help her dad live.

At the age of 19, Bob Prouty was infected with hepatitis C through a blood transfusion he received after his Army jeep blew up. Hepatitis C is an insidious disease that often takes 25 to 30 years to manifest itself. As a result, he now suffers from chronic liver disease.

Katie explained, "He's really tired, because of all the medication he's on. When he gets a cold, we can tell, because he gets yellow. Most people get pale, but he gets a yellow tint to him."

Hepatitis C is called a “silent epidemic,” because many people don’t know they have it. In fact, it’s the most common blood-borne infection in the U.S.; 4 million Americans have been infected with the disease, but only 1 million know it.

Experts said that hepatitis C is a public health threat on par with HIV.

Katie’s biggest frustration is that her father appears to have been ignored by the very government he vowed to fight for. Even worse, the Department of Veterans Affairs won’t pay for what he needs most -- a liver transplant.

Her family is turning to doctors at Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital.

She said, "We've met them. They're all wicked nice. They're supporting. They tell us everything. Some of the stuff is scary, but they tell us the positive stuff, too."

Katie gets her positive “stuff” at Atlantic Gymnastics in Portsmouth, N.H.

When asked what gymnastics has given her, she answered, “It's given me strength. It's given me friends. It's given me life skills -- like trust the people around you, trust your family, trust yourself."

Tony Retrosi has coached Katie for the past seven years.

He told News 8, "She has the heart of a lion. She is the one that I never have to question if she's giving 100percent. I just know that on any given day that what she does it what's available to her. There's nothing -- she doesn't save it, and it's a good way to go through life, I think."

Katie is determined to get her father a new liver, which doctors said could add 15 years to his life.

She has organized a road race for May 21 called the Dragon Slayer 6k.

She explained, “I called it the Dragon Slayer, because hepatitis C -- its nickname is the ‘Black Dragon,’ because it waits and builds up all its steam, then blows out all its fire and just destroys the body."

Katie needs to raise $150,000 to pay for her father’s liver transplant. As she sees it, the race will do a lot more.

"We would like to raise awareness and to raise enough money to help find a cure -- not just a cure, but a vaccine, so no one has to go through this," she said.

Katie said that she wants to be an orthopedic surgeon, so that she can give her dad something he lost in the explosion -- a new kneecap.