SQJ Taipei

Apparently I have shingles. Yeah… not the roofing kind… but this kind.

We aren’t really sure, but it seems to most likely be the problem.

On the Sunday night that Sports and English Camp began, I knew I was in for some trouble. I did not sleep more than 30 minutes at a time that night and was usually wakened every 10-15 minutes with a horrible sore throat. I felt horrid on Monday AM, but prayed and asked God for strength to minister to the kids and staff that week of camp. I felt like the Lord granted this request so I just moved forward in faith.

All during the week, I knew my body was not well, but God continued to give me strength and so I just kept taking each day as it came…

Saturday morning brought the end of camp and almost immediately when my camp responsibilities were over, my strength was fading and my entire body was wracked in pain. I was able to drive 2 hours from Taichung back to Taipei, but then collapsed for the rest of the day.

I had noticed a few spots on my belly and arm, but Angie noticed a more prominent spot on my leg in a place where I wouldn’t have seen it… it *did* look like chicken pox, but I had it as a child and have been exposed many other times since then so it really couldn’t be that.

The pain throughout my body was shockingly bad… I really couldn’t believe the pain. I also had a fever. Our house church was meeting at Joe and Daphne’s at 5PM and then Audrey had to go to the airport at about 7PM. There was no way I could do any of that, but Angie was running everyone around and also thought I should get to the doctor. Her thought was that he might be able to give me something to bring my fever down so I could rest.

We drove by Dr. Wang’s office and saw that he was technically closed… but that his pull down door was half up… someone was in there! Angie called his office and when he learned of my status and that we were just outside, he agreed to see me. He also said it was chicken pox and he gave me some medicine and also a shot which brought down my fever and gave me rest within an hour. Mr. Wang is a Christian and we thank God that he just “happened” to stop by his office at the time we were seeking him out!

I’ve been totally and completely useless this week. Actually I was able to get some stuff done yesterday and today, but I’m a zombie… emotionless and in constant pain. That intense pain is one of the symptoms of shingles so although I don’t have a big rash, we are still pretty sure that is what I have.

Shingles is an interesting illness… it is caused by the same virus as chicken pox and researchers believe that the virus usually doesn’t leave the body, but remains dormant in the nervous system. Sometimes something will trigger the virus and it attacks the nervous system which is why the pain is not limited to where the rash breaks out.

So… I don’t have much of a rash… but I’m in constant pain… right now mostly my calves, thighs, and fingers.

I’m glad to have gotten through a good week of camp, but I was looking forward to spending this week catching up with my kids… not like this…

I’ll try to post more about Sports and English Camp later… it is more important than my sickness… but I wanted y’all to know my situation.