Shingles - Oh My! by Beverley Leisy-Hartman
My husband Gary and I had spent the weekend helping my sister Mamie, who lives alone, with some household tasks. Mostly, she and I talked and Gary did the work (smiles)! Mamie and I spent time reminiscing, laughing and listening to each other’s heart. I love doing that.
Then on Monday we drove to our cabin located at Lake Almanor, California and enjoyed the beautiful fall colors. We were looking forward to some quiet time together at our mountain retreat. While driving there, I did notice that I had a little headache, but only on the right side of my head. In fact, the right side of my face felt kind of strange – hurting, yet kind of itchy. “That is really weird” I thought, but dismissed it from my mind.
When we arrived at the cabin I helped Gary get settled in with groceries and turned on the heat to get the chill out of the cabin. I mentioned to Gary the odd feeling…I knew something was not right…but we decided we would see how things were in the morning.
Morning came with a clear realization that something indeed was wrong. My head hurt and the right side of my face burned. Then the word “Shingles” popped into my head. I remember seeing a teacher with Shingles at Chester High School a few years back and she talked about how painful it was. I was worried. “God, is that what is wrong with me?” I quietly prayed…as anxiety joined my other symptoms, we called the local medical clinic and found they had an immediate opening.
The clinic doctor took one look at the now clearly visible red eruptions on my forehead and around my right eye and confirmed, “Yes, you have Shingles.”
His next words were disconcerting to say the least, “Because it is on your face and near your eye, the virus could get into your eye. You need to see an ophthalmologist right away – that could be quite serious if left untreated.”
We went back to our cabin – we weren’t planning to go home until later in the week. Thoughts passed through my mind…maybe we should see the only ophthalmologist in Chester…we called and learned that he was on vacation. Hmmmm, maybe I should email my regular doctor at home in Sacramento for advice. Dr. Zawilla responded quickly…his email message terse and clear, “You need to have it checked immediately by a ophthalmologist. That virus can cause blindness.”
“Blindness?! Dear God I need your protection…” My silent prayer went Heavenward. Immediately my mind rolled back 20 years…I had heard that word before! That time it was a tumor growing behind my right eye…the same side that Shingles was now attacking. I remember well when Gary and our two grown sons prayed for me in the hospital room 20 years ago just as I was being wheeled out for surgery; I entered the operating completely at peace.
The surgeon then removed a triangular shaped piece of my skull, extracted the golf ball sized tumor successfully, drilled and then stitched the skull piece back in place, and swaddled my head with gauze and bandages. 24 hours later Gary and I were eating dinner at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco...Gary later told me that every eye in the place was on us. Back in the car we laughed together...not too often one goes to a fancy restaurant with bandaged head and high heels!
Ten days passed before we got the lab report back on the tumor . Meanwhile, Gary paced; I read scriptures and continued to be at peace. Benign! – came back the lab report! Our family rejoiced at the news…God is indeed faithful.
That was then…this is now. And the cautionary tone in my Sacramento doctor's email caused us great concerned.
Gary swung into action. He researched on line and found an Ophthalmologist located in Chico who was willing to stay late that same day to see me. We quickly made the 2 hour trip down the mountain to see him…he stayed an hour past his normal closing just to see me. His nurse ushered me immediately into the examination room.
After I was thoroughly examined, the Ophthalmologist reported good and bad news. “No Shingles virus in your eye at this point, but I see something close to your retina that I think you need to get checked out. You know Diabetics must take good care of themselves and carefully monitor their blood sugar levels - blood vessels in your eye can sometimes bleed and your vision could be adversely affected.” I have been an insulin dependent diabetic for over 30 years and I know the problems that diabetes can cause its victims. The doctor continued, “I want you to follow up with another Ophthalmologist when you get home in one week from this examination. Shingles can still show up in your eye.”
We went home at this point and I was able to see a Sacramento Ophthalmologist three days later. He dilated my eyes, looked inside and confirmed what the earlier doctor had observed (1) no sign of Shingles (2) yes, there was some swelling (broken blood vessels) in my right eye and he thought that needed to be taken care of right away. “Well, I had a cancellation this morning," he told me, "so since you are here, how about taking care of this problem right now with some laser surgery.” And just like that it was done. Of course I will always have a need to keep my eyes checked regularly for this chronic problem since there is no eye pain that would signal that something was wrong.
<><><><><><><><>
My praise to God is this - if I would not have had Shingles I would not have known about needing immediate laser surgery on my right eye. Sometimes things happen to us – for a much larger reason than we know at the time. God is faithful. I say again…Our God is faithful!
Psalm 36:5 --“Your love oh Lord reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.”
Psalm 36:5 --“Your love oh Lord reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.”