By Stephanie Wurtz
s.wurtz@krdo.com

COLORADO SPRINGS - The lives of hundreds of Colorado Springs surgery patients could change drastically this week.  They're waiting to find out if they're infected with Hepatitis C.  One of the worst parts of the whole situation may be the waiting. 

Two patients NEWSCHANNEL 13 talked with are still waiting for certified letters from Audubon Surgery Center with instructions on blood tests.  The wait time for results is up to five days. 

But 26-year-old Savannah Stover couldn't wait and she got her blood checked Monday.  "I'm frightened and I feel absolutely helpless," says Stover.  She found out Friday that she is one of 1,200 patients in Colorado Springs who may have been exposed to Hepatitis C. 

"We're really the innocent bystanders," Stover says.  Stover spent Monday waiting for a call about the blood test results from her surgeon's office.  "This is a serious illness," Stover says, "and did my life just get transformed and radically changed in a day because I went in to have a minor knee surgery?" 

Even a negative blood test result won't ease her mind.  Since Stover had her surgery just weeks ago, she'll get retested in a few months.  The disease could show up then.  She says life can't be normal, until she knows for sure. 

"Simple things like cutting vegetables for dinner, if I cut myself now, that's toxic for my family," Stover says.  A second patient that wants to remain anonymous says she hasn't gotten her certified letter yet.  She says she hasn't gone into work since last week because because she can't focus. 

Audubon Surgery Center opened a resource center Monday for patients to talk face-to-face with nurses or physicians about Hepatitis C.  They can also get lab slips to get their blood tested. 

"We want to test everyone who could've possibly been exposed," says Amy Triandiflou, a spokesperson for Audubon Surgical Center.  Audubon is testing 1,200 patients, though Triandiflou says the number of people who may have actually contracted the disease is much smaller. 

"As soon as we got word from the Colorado Department of Health, the wheels were in motion to make sure [patients] could get the information they needed," says Triandiflou.

"It's this sense that I'm scared of my own blood," says Stover of waiting to find out and says she wants answers about how this happened.  "It is currently under investigation," Triandiflou says, "we do not have any details of that investigation or on what might have happened here at Audubon." 

Stover says now she's not sure if she can trust any medical workers.  "It will certainly make us ask harder questions we thought we'd never had to ask," Stover says.  The resource center is open from 9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. Monday through Friday. 

The patient care line is 719-571-4440.  Click here for additional Hepatitis C information.  Audubon says there've been no confirmed cases of the disease in Colorado Springs.