Monday, September 04, 2006

The Shingles Bond


I didn't do much for my day off. I spent it working out and then recovering from my workout. I watched a bit of tennis which enabled me to see James Blake, who is my kindred spirit. (He won, btw)

Much has been said about Blake's struggles in recent years -- a serious car accident, injuries in training, his father's death from stomach cancer and his own battle against shingles, which nearly paralyzed him. Somehow, he perservered and is back to winning tennis matches again.

Blake and I are the only two people I know of who are under the age of 60 and have dealt with shingles. I got it when I was 17 and I didn't know anything about this virus. All I knew was that I wanted these blisters to go away. The rash was on the side of my stomach and stretched around to the side of my back. It didn't itch, but it hurt. It hurt to the point that I often held my shirt away from my skin because the mere touch of the fabric ached. I was also cold all the time and spent much of the spring bundled under covers with my teeth chattering. I finally went to the doctor and I learned that this is a disease that usually affects the elderly. To this day, I have no clue how I got it. It left a few tiny scars.

My case wasn't as bad as Blake's. He had shingles so bad that it nearly paralyzed the left side of his face and almost caused permanent nerve damage. That virus is no joke. I still get goosebumps when I think about it. So if I ever happen to meet James Blake, maybe we can compare cases. Then I'll show him my scars and he can show me his. Then we'll ride off in the sunset together ... 'cause the man is foooine.
(Photo courtesy of http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41502000/jpg/_41502354_blake_getty_200x300.jpg)

3 comments:

Motownrunner said...

I'm all for you all for you and blakey riding into the sunset together. sorry about the shingles. doesn't sound like fun.

Juicy77 said...

He's so sexy I'd lick his shingles.
I know I know, that was gross. LOL :o)
Seriously though, sorry to hear about the shingles. How in the world did that happen?

Strength/Courage/Wisdom said...

Oh Juicy, you obviously haven't seen what shingles look like. I'm sure you'd change your tune if you knew! And I don't know how I got shingles. They say it can happen to anyone who has had chicken pox. The virus stays in your body and can come out in the form of shingles anytime, anywhere. Yuck! I'm getting the chills just thinking about it!