A very good friend of mine recently found out that his liver is shot and that he has been living with Hepatitis C for twenty years.
I'll let his bolg ( HepCboy.com ) speak for itself. Yet, I'll just add that he is a completely self-made man who has spent the greater part of the last 15 years building an economic and emotional foundation for his family.
He is also a DSL user and has financially helped the Damn Small Linux project with an interest free loan. An act that is very typical of his nature.