My Second Case of the Chicken Pox

In nearly 25 years since I was born, I have encountered a lot of events, ranging from the exciting to the depressing. One occasion that I shall never forget was when I was stricken with chicken pox...a second time. That's right, I was unlucky enough to get chicken pox twice in my life. How and why it happened I cannot say, but let me tell you, it was quite an experience, one that I thought I would never live through.

It was May 1998, and I was in the process of finishing up seventh grade. On the 28th of that month, I spent much of the day with a terrible headache. I did not know at the time what had caused it. Was it too little sleep? Tension? Migraine? That night, I kept alternating between feeling hot and feeling cold. Something was definitely wrong, but what it was, I could not say. It was not until the next day that things really became ugly...both literally and figuratively.

On May 29th, they started to appear: spots all over my body. At first I thought they might have been pimples, and I went to school that day. Later, my parents noticed these spots and became nervous. Indeed, by that time I was also feeling rather weak and fatigued. It was eventually determined that I was infected by the chicken pox. I had suffered it back in the late 80s or early 90s, but now it had come to attack my poor body once again. I had it all: itchy, bothersome spots; fatigue; and I just plain felt awful.

I spent the weekend trying to rest and recover, but it was not easy. I was forced to sleep without much covers, and I napped so much during the day that I was unable to get much sleep at nighttime. I took oatmeal baths to relieve the itches, and I would try to watch cartoons and the news to feel better. Being a lifelong Illinois resident, I was excited about the Chicago Bulls trying to win a sixth championship, and I think that was part of what kept me going during my suffering.

On account of my chicken pox, I was kept out of school, though by that point it did not matter: I was done with my lessons and school was about to be let out for the summer. Thus, while my classmates were enjoying their last days of school, I was at home still trying to recover. As the week passed, I was feeling better, though the spots remained, and I spent much of my time at home. The worst of the chicken pox had passed, though I still felt uncomfortable being seen in public. Eventually, I would feel well enough to head out with some of my spots intact. They would fall off, and soon Ii was feeling and looking much better. The chicken pox would keep me down no longer...or so I have hoped for the past eleven years.

I must admit, when I had chicken pox during that time, I thought it might kill me. I was feeling quite weak, and the naps that I took did not help. It was the worst that I had ever felt until three years later, when I came down with the flu. To this day, I still do not know exactly how I got chicken pox a second time. For all I know, a student also carrying the disease must have come in contact with me and unknowingly made me feel rather ill. It is unfortunate that the chicken pox kept me from enjoying the end of seventh grade, but I am lucky that I managed to live through it. By the time I recovered, the Bulls were closing in on their championship and I would be around to see Michael Jordan and his team win it for the last time. A truly great moment, and it made my recovery even more terrific and fortunate.

Eleven years have passed since that dreadful episode. Today, I am generally healthy, though not without the occasional illness. There was the aforementioned bout with the flu, but that shall be saved for another story. Then, of course, I have had colds, gas, upset stomach, etc. However, all of them seem minor compared to my second bout with chicken pox. It was quite an experience, and one that I hope never happens to anyone. I also pray that I never get chicken pox a third time, or else I might not be so lucky to survive.