21 Comments

I am so sorry. Yes our bodies are mystifying and difficult. I got the vaccine during seminary! I was 50, my parents and parents in law were ill and dying - seminary was hard and i thought this would be the time. Oddly it has not appeared - the vaccine seems to have been effective. Now I manifest stress inother ways - my teeth grind, My legs cramp and I crave sugar. No vaccine for these???

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lolsob... yes, the stress in our bodies. Peace and hang in there.

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MaryAnn, I’m so sorry you’re having to shingle and I empathize! Some years ago, my daughter Juli and I took a trip to Costa Rica. It was a wonderful combination of beautiful new sights, birds and animals (howler monkeys), and adventures, some of which challenged me. As the week passed, I developed what I thought was a cold sore on my lips. It got bigger, more painful and “the ugliest cold sore I’ve ever had”! When I saw my doctor, she immediately named it. It went up into my nose and I had to take time off from work and lie low for a week.

The idea of being with whatever one’s malady is as opposed to jumping immediately into recovery as very helpful at this time in my life!

Get the shot!! I don’t remember it as being all that debilitating?!😉

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I've heard mixed things about it--I've been flattened by every covid shot and booster so I'm a little leery. Costa Rica is great! But yes, it's also a lot.

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Thanks for giving me another disease to be anxious about

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I live to serve

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Thank you for I’ve been shingling! I’ve written about my lung disease but it took a turn and I’m really struggling. So for the last week I’ve had to accept that it’s okay to do nothing and let others take care of me. And my husband has been and us an angel here in earth.

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Thank God for caring spouses!

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So sorry to hear of your shingling. Please continue to treat yourself with kindness. It can bite back.

I love, and relate to, the “-ing” of illness. How true that we can’t put it/them in drawers and slam it shut. Oh that we could.

Last thought- in your spare time, you still owe me a coffee date!

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You got it!

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Uff Dah! So sorry that you had it... at my age (love it when medical folks say I’m doing pretty good for my age 🤪) I was told to get the shots. They knocked me out but not as bad as shingles would have!

Loved your presentation at the Festival. My wife and I attended virtually. Thanks for your refreshing and insightful presentation!

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Thank you so much for tuning in! It was fun.

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I’m very sorry you had to go through that. Glad you’re feeling better and thank you for writing about it! My shingling, in my mid-40s, WAS in the eye. Grateful to have survived it and no eye damage so far. 🙏🏼🙏🏼

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Ouch!

I've heard that once you get it, you're unlikely to get it again--did you hear that? Still, I will probably get the vax. I hadn't done it because so many people talk about getting flattened by it, and I hadn't found a window of time to clear my schedule so that could happen. I guess that's a parable, isn't it? Prioritize your health and healing or your body will do it for you. Gah.

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I am SO sorry that you have had shingles. I know how painful they can be. I hope you get your energy back soon! I will be thinking about and praying for you!

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Thank you Julie! I'm a lot better, but still rocking the naps--any excuse for more of those, eh?

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oh mercy. I had shingles five years ago and I still remember the pain in my chest and over the breast I was feeding my 6mo with. I pray you rested. RESTED. and thank you for reminding us that we are bodies, not just have them.

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I can't get the vaccine for another decade, it's only available for 50+ but you better know I'll be signing up for it the day after my birthday.

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Good idea. And thanks for the good wishes!

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So, first off, shingles is awful. I got the first shot on the market and the upgraded 2 shot series. It hurts and is achey several days, but much better than the disease!

Second, I Needed to hear this today. I’m 8 weeks out from a life changing fall off a ladder. 4 broken bones in my back and shattered, as in not really repairable, left wrist.

Days look much different for me, but I’m weaning off the 2 braces, and am able to do most things with rest periods. Slowed me down for sure. Searching for the good and the lessons…

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Ouch! And aww. Sending you lots of love and hopes for healing, Gail.

It takes time to get there, eh? I think a lot about toxic positivity and the ways we impose meaning on ourselves and others. There's a line from Ted Lasso--talking about a difficult period of his life, one character says, "It didn't happen to me, it happened for me." That wisdom is hard-won and comes with a lot of time, work, and reflection; otherwise it's an empty platitude. Blessings as you do the work, especially when the work is to rest and restore.

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