Mr. Sulaiman
Re-telling of the shingles story of Mr. KT Ng, diagnosed at 83 y.o.
It was Christmas of 2020, and I was at the dentist with my daughter. While waiting for my turn, my daughter noticed scabs on the right side of my nose that looked like raw, bloody patches. So, later we went to our regular GP and he told me I had shingles around my right eye. At the hospital, I was prescribed pills, eye drops and ointment for the pain. There was a stabbing pain on the right side of the face, around the mouth area, up to the hairline, and sometimes even the right eye too. The pain was so intense, even to move my mouth, even to chew something. It really hurt.
“IT WASN’T ONLY MY DAILY LIFE THAT WAS AFFECTED BY SHINGLES.”
After three weeks of medication, the visible signs of shingles seemed to disappear. But the pain was still there. My granddaughter signed me up for a TCM acupuncture session in between my trips to see the neurologist. However, the specialist told me that I had delayed too long and that shingles had already damaged my nerves and I would take a longer time to recover. Due to budget constraints, I had no choice but to go back to government care. But till today, I still see the neurologist for a review even though costs are still a consideration. Initially it was once every 3 months, now it’s once every 6 months. I realised there’s no such thing as a magic cure.
I will say it's not only my daily life that has been affected by shingles. My family thinks I've changed a lot. They say I look depressed, sadder than I was before.
I sincerely wish that nobody has to go through this kind of pain.
