Tuesday 17 Jul 2001 (Day 7) |
I woke
up at 7.20am. When I was powdering the lesions, I noticed
that there were no more new lesions on my body. In fact,
those on my face had begun the process of crusting, though
a few were still ripening. I guess the cells in the face
are more active and therefore stimulate earlier recovery
in the face area. Those lesions on my arms and body also
appear to be ripening. But, I still could not com my
hair as the lesions on my scalp met every brush of the
comb painfully. |
I
managed to move my bowels at about 10am. It didn't require
great effort from me this time and there was no tremendous
heat release either. That day, I had watermelon all
through the day and evening. I noticed that I had
developed a slight cough. For lunch I had macaroni again. |
The
afternoon saw the return of that dreaded pulsating
headache. There was tenderness in my scalp when I touched
it with my fingers. The headache remained with me through
the night as well. |
For
dinner I had stir-fried chye sim with pork slices
again. This was followed by a waterchest drink. I was not
allowed to take the food or drink hot. I had to wait till
they had cooled down to room temperature. Luckily, there
was no leng liang in sight that evening. |
That
night, I managed a three-hour sleep. |
Wednesday 18 Jul 2001 (Day 8) |
I woke
up to a pulsating headache in the back of my head at
7.15am. There was tenderness in my scalp too. That day,
there was no one to get breakfast for me so I took a slice
of white bread and butter. |
In the
afternoon, I had mee tai mak soup with minced pork
for lunch. There was watermelon on the table too. The
pulsating headache concentrated itself at the right side
of my head the whole afternoon. I had hardly any peace. |
That
evening, I had my usual meal of chye sim with pork
slices. Yes! There was no leng liang for me that
day as well. |
Thursday 19 Jul 2001 (Day 9) |
This
morning, I found that the lesions on my face had almost
cleared up. They had all crusted and remnants of the
crusts remained on my face. I dared not peel them off for
I was told scars would remain if I did so. I could comb my
hair now, for the lesions on my scalp had crusted too.
Still, I could feel the remnants of the lesions as I moved
my comb over my hair. Some of the crust came off onto my
comb. |
The
headache that had plagued me the previous day was not
around anymore. I had pickled lettuce and porridge for
lunch. There was also a quarter of a watermelon for me to
finish. The lesions on my body had begun to crust. |
It was chye
sim for dinner again. I noticed the occasional cough.
That night, I slept better than I had the previous nine
days. |
Friday 20 Jul 2001 (Day 10) |
When I
woke up at 7.30am, I realised I had slept a full five
hours! I had bread and butter for breakfast and managed to
move my bowels again at 10am. |
Lunch
came at about 1pm. It was mee tai mak soup again.
Most of the lesions on my body had crusted. The lesions on
my arms and legs had started crusting. That night, as I
slept, I noticed a slight itch in my body. By 12 midnight,
I wasn't awake anymore. |
Saturday 21 Jul 2001 (Day 11) |
When I
woke up at 7.30am, I found I had slept a full seven and a
half hours without interruption. I was told I could bathe
that morning. Boy! That was certainly welcoming news! It
was my first bath in ten days! I was told to bathe using
warm water. I had to shampoo my hair and dry it before
proceeding to clean the rest of the body. There were
layers and layers of dirt to be scrubbed off my body-
albeit gently. |
Breakfast was chee cheong fun - plain white of
course with nothing else added. But, I was allowed to add
some light soya sauce. For lunch, I had mee tai mak
soup. That day they brought some grapes for me to eat. I
also had water-chestnut drinks. |
Chye
sim was on the menu for dinner again. I was glad they
had decided I could stop taking that dreaded leng liang. |
Sunday 22 Jul 2001
(Day 12) |
Sleep
was uninterrupted. I only woke up in the morning. There
was more good news that day - I could go downstairs to the
carpark to warm up my car. Yes! After 11 long days, I
finally could get out of the house. I had a warm bath and
then did a quick drive
round the neighbourhood to reacquaint myself with it again.
It had been such a long time since I was last able to go
out in the sun! |
I went
over to my mother-in-law's place for lunch. She had cooked
a bowl of mee sua soup with minced pork for me.
Late afternoon, I hopped over to Hougang Mall with my
wife. It was a refreshing change from being stuck in the
house. |
That
evening, I could eat at the main dining table, but I could
only have chye sim and pomfret - the rest of the
food was still out of bounds to me. |
It is
now 9.45pm and I am pounding away at my notebook,
preparing tomorrow's Monday with the Editor column. What I
want to say is this - try not to get chicken pox. But, if
you ever do, read what I have written, it may be of some
help to you. |
Just
keep in mind this - the first few days are really
nightmares in that you hardly get to sleep what with all
the itch and the suffering. Prepare yourself for that sort
of situation and you will come up tops. I am also told
that I can't eat chicken, seafood, chilli, curry, black
soya sauce, etc for at least two months from today. |
Much as
I dislike to say it - It was the leng liang that
did the magic, for though the taste was pungent, the leng
liang did the job of removing most of the heat from my
body, thus allowing me to recover from chicken pox much
more quickly. But, mind you - leng liang is very
expensive! The pock marks are still around - dark spots here and there all over my body and limbs. I guess it
will take a while for them to disappear. By the
way, as I am typing, I realise the itch is still around. It hasn't gone away
totally. Anyway, have a nice day! |