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It all began with a blister on my lower eyelid. I
happened to rub it accidentally and it was painful.
Soon after blisters appeared on my hands and neck.
I suspected that I must be coming down with something.
My mother examined me and immediately pronounced
"chicken-pox". I had come down with chicken-pox.
She took me to the doctor's to make sure. The
doctor said that what I needed was rest. He gave me a two-
week medical certificate and some pills to keep down the
fever.
Two weeks! I had to stay in the house for two
weeks.
Very quickly more blisters appeared all over my
body. I even had some in the throat, which made
swallowing difficult. To make matters worse, I began to get
bouts of fever. At times when the fever was raging, I seemed to drift into a kind of
limbo. Things became hazy
and I was not sure whether I was dreaming or awake.
I had a look in the mirror and saw that my face was
grotesque. Red blisters covered the whole face. I
wondered if I would be scarred permanently.
So I stayed in the house and did nothing. It was not
too unpleasant except for the fever and the extra care I
had to take not to break the blisters accidentally. Nobody
came to visit me. I was forbidden to visit others. It was
customary to remain out of sight when one had chicken-
pox. I had no choice but to comply.
The days passed. Slowly the blisters dried into dark
scabs which flaked off after a while, leaving behind little
red scars. The flakes fell on the floor, on the bed and
among my clothes.
For two weeks I remained confined to the house.
At the end of the period, my appearance had improved
enough for me to go back to school. The little scars
remained there for a few more months but I was glad my
enforced stay in the house was over. |
