Negative thinking on my part. Guess I'm kind of bitter. Would like my life back. I am significantly better from antivirals. Just not cured.
I'm not at all confident that "cured" is possible at this time. It may never be.
Two members of my family are living normal lives -- school, work, marriage, social activities. One even engages in competitive sports and social dancing. The other still doesn't do competitive sports, but can do things like day-hiking. She takes many treatments to maintain her functionality. She is definitely not cured, but she has a reasonably normal life. I'd take that.
I've gone from bedbound to working full-time at a non-demanding job with understanding clients. I can shower every day. I can keep my house clean and feed myself. I can go grocery shopping without a cart/wheelchair if I haven't PEMed myself. I can't usually work all day and socialize in the evening. I wouldn't try hiking or any kind of long walks. Heavy labor, even gardening, is still not possible. I take many, many pills to stay functioning at this level and I pace myself very, very carefully. I am definitely not cured, but I didn't expect to be this far along before The One True Treatment was discovered. It's not perfect, but it is SO much better than bedbound and unable to think straight, that I feel like I have a lot of my life back. Not all, by any means, but a lot.