Borough man seeks new career helping others

Dennis Connaughton, 50, hopes to become a social worker helping those afflicted with hepatitis, cancer and AIDS. This fall he will enroll as a full-time student at Rutgers.

By: Sarah Winkelman
   HIGHTSTOWN — After raising a family and sending his two daughters off to college, Dennis Connaughton decided to embark on his own college career.
   It may not be just a college career the 50-year-old Mr. Connaughton has begun, but a new professional career inspired by the contraction of an illness he feels carries an unfair stigma.
   Mr. Connaughton enrolled for classes at Mercer County Community College and graduated May 23 at the school’s 34th annual commencement ceremonies with an associate’s degree in humanities and social sciences.
   He said he had reached the point in his life where college was an option and decided he wanted to attend a local college. MCCC allowed Mr. Connaughton to work during the day and attend school at night.
   Continuing his education was something he had always wanted to do, but he did not think it was possible until a friend convinced him to go for it.
   "I saw her doing it and decided I could do it too," Mr. Connaughton said.
   Mr. Connaughton won a full scholarship to Rutgers University through the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. In the fall he will be a full-time junior, attending classes with college-age students.
   At Mercer, "a lot of people there were my age because I went at night," he said. "I got to meet quite a few people."
   He’s not worried about fitting in at Rutgers.
   "I’ve always been a rock-and-roll player and I am very comfortable around young people," he said. "I don’t think old."
   He said he believes the hardest thing about being a full-time student will be earning a living, since he will be taking a leave of absence from his job as a cement truck driver. He plans to get a job through a Rutgers work study program in order to support himself.
   After he graduates from Rutgers he intends to become a hospital social worker, counseling patients suffering from hepatitis, HIV and cancer.
   "I made a vow to myself that if the opportunity presented itself I would make a difference in people’s lives," he said.
   Mr. Connaughton was diagnosed with hepatitis C, a blood-borne virus that causes an inflammation of the liver, in 1996. He said he lost friends and lost contact with family members because of the stigma of the disease. People did not understand the intricacies of the disease or the ways it can be contracted. He believes it is an epidemic similar to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
   Mr. Connaughton said he has always been a writer and had written for a small newspaper before deciding he wanted to work with the visual media. He took a class in HTML, the computer language for creating Web sites, and initially began a single-page Web site for a class project. It has since become one of the largest informational Web sites on hepatitis and HIV. The site’s address is www.geocities.com/xxdennisco2/Hepopedia.htm.
   "I can remember when I was first diagnosed with hepatitis C. I remember the fear, the despair, the feeling of isolation, but most of all I remember the feeling that I was the only person in the entire world who had this illness," Mr. Connaughton explains in the introduction page of his Web site. "Very little was known about hepatitis C at that time and, although treatment options have improved, very little progress has been made in understanding this retro-virus."
   Many people can go 30 years without showing any symptoms, while others have only had the disease for seven years and are on the brink of death. That is why Mr. Connaughton stresses the importance of getting tested if you have ever had a tattoo, body piercing, blood transfusion, or even had your teeth cleaned.
   The purpose of the Web site is to bring together sources of information he has found or been led to on the Web. He stresses that it is an educational site and he cannot verify that all the of information is correct. He has tried to include everything from respected medical reference sites to sites that document the personal struggle of individuals who have battled hepatitis C.
   The site is for people with hepatitis, their families and anyone who has an interest in the disease. Mr. Connaughton said he wants to provide information on the disease in a way that can be understood by everyone.
   In addition to running the Web site, he leads support groups at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Hamilton for people affected by hepatitis, HIV and other liver diseases.
   Mr. Connaughton said studying to be a social worker and leading the support groups has given him a focus in life. He loves helping people, especially those who are newly diagnosed, because they are scared. They don’t know what’s going on, how they got the disease, or what is going to happen to them.
   He said it is "very gratifying" to help people and provide them with information.