Awareness - Shingles

 About a year ago, I was in the process of getting life back on track. Well, I wasn't even aiming for a track but basically just trying to get one foot in front of the other. I had completed my 16 weekly chemo treatments in early September, so I had plans.

I came out of the gate running so to speak. I started with a 10 km walk on Terry Fox day surrounded by many family and friends.  I eagerly signed up for the Stay Strong program at the YMCA, a wonderful fitness program now available to all cancer patients. It felt so good to be back at it. 

In mid November, our middle daughter had a weekend basketball tournament in Quebec City. Who says no to a road trip with their two teen daughters? :-)   Our oldest met up with her BFF in Bishops and we got to shop and  visit the Christmas Market in Old Quebec with some of her teammates and families. It was a lovely trip! 

The Monday after we arrived home, I took some downtime to catch up on rest. I was having some nasty eye pain but thought it might be from my ongoing sinus issues or a migraine coming on.  The next day, I booked an appointment with an optometrist as the eye pain had escalated.  They checked me out and suggested I get a new RX for glasses.  I wasn't convinced that would fix my issue, so I  saw my family physician the next day and was treated for a sinus infection.  By that evening, I was feeling worse pain, nausea, and a little red 'dot: on my forehead appeared.  My husband obviously knew as soon as he saw the spot on my forehead what was going on. Shingles, of course, why not add that to my ever growing list of diagnoses. 

I was able to get started on an antiviral medication and had to see an ophthalmologist urgently as my eye seemed to be affected. The rash worsened rapidly. I had nausea and vomiting for a couple of days and the nerve pain continued for weeks. My eye worsened and my vision became cloudy and then declined. I was followed by an ophthalmologist for months after.  It was very unpleasant. 

For others going into cancer treatment, I recommend asking your medical team about getting vaccinated for shingles. It is recommended for people over 50 to get the vaccine, since I was 44 at the time it was never mentioned or even thought about. My weakened immune system due to chemo and cancer increased my chances. I lost part of my vision and it had quite an impact on my healing process, I will be getting my shingles vaccination soon. 

Hope this can help someone