My Name is Weston Woodward and I have Shingles

I thoroughly enjoyed the visit from Ms. Roux. She gave me both wise and encouraging words. I felt rejuvenated. She rocks. Besides the words, Becca brought me a sweet 175 gram Frisbee and earbud headphones….what a friend. On Friday, we took a trip to the beach to relax and chat. Ever since October rolled in, the weather here can be characterized by daily showers and overcast skies. However, this did not prohibit us to rent a 100 CC moped and drive it back to Puerto Plata….fun. That eve Ms. Roux coached me in the ways of moto driving. This, of course, was not difficult (mostly because it was an automatic..ha).

Saturday, I boded my dear expatriate farewell. She left me with a single mission: return the moto by 4pm in Cabarete. Remember, I am a novice. I hopped onto my motorized death scooter for the 40 minute cruise to the beach. Not surprisingly, rain accompanied my journey the entire way. I felt like I was Che Guevara. When I arrived in the touristy village, I was not dry…no not at all. Mr. Rodriguez, the rent-a-moto owner, met me out front to check the condition of his bike. He was very friendly and I tried my best Spanish in communicating with him. After he returned my drivers license, he told me he would discount my next rental…..Texas Charm. Only two doors down from the rental shop, a few young people my age called me to join them. They gave me some Mamajuana (NOT MARIJUANA) to drink to warm up from the rain. The alcohol consisted of Rum soaked in an herb called Mamajuana. I did not refuse their kindness and sat down to chat with them. I am sure I will run into those guys again(one was a really cute girl….but I think she had a daughter…but then again I could still fulfill Sandy Plesha’s prediction that I am going to marry a Latin woman…ha). After a little while I left to find Ben who was meeting up with me. Ben and I had a great afternoon relaxing and meeting up with a couple other missionaries from the Montellano area. All in all, the day was successful: I did not die driving a moto in the rain.

I woke up on the Lord’s Day a little worried. For the last few days I have had soreness and what looked like poison ivy on the back of my head and one side of my neck. I thought it might have been my body reacting to a spider bite. To be safe, I decided that I would show Luz at church and maybe seek medical attention. The service began with singing of hymns and prayer…loved singing…loved it….some of the songs were really difficult because of the Spanish word usage…moving on. When the pastor began preaching on the vine and branches, my body began to tell my brain to shut down. I resisted about four times to passing out until I finally leaned over to Robin telling her I was going to go get fresh air. Outside, I felt a little better and decided to acquire Luis’ Juice from his shop stand. Let me tell you….it worked. By the time church was let out, I felt better. I spotted Miguel and Jenny, the missionary couple with Makarios, and told Jenny about my neck. Miguel said it was a reaction to a plant, but Luz soon approached with her abounding medicinal wisdom and said it was something else. To make sure, Jenny and Miguel took me to a little ghetto free clinic where the Doctor immediately gave me his diagnosis: Viral Herpes. What?!?!?!? Well, I think it is Shingels, a grownup and more potent version of Chicken Pox (not itchy but very painful). Somehow I received this gift on the back of my head and it then spread though my nerves down to my right clavicle. Treatment: Vitamin B shot, pills, and ointment. After I dropped forty bucks or so, I returned back to the Doc for my first shot. A nurse led me into a room. I walked over to a counter, dropped my pants (the shot was destined for my Gluteus Medius) and kind of leaned over with my arms. But, the nurse told me to move to another spot of the room where I again leaned over. That was not enough……because then she told me to lay down on a hospital bed type contraption. This bed was not made for my tall frame and I laid face down, butt up awkwardly since my body did not all fit on it. Finally, I felt the smooth thick needle penetrate my skin and release its thick liquid into my buttocks. When it was all over, I began to rebutton my pants but was interrupted by an older lady who came prancing in. She looked over at me and exclaimed “Dios Mio” and apologized for barging in. Ha. All my equipment was concealed so no problems were had. I came out of that clinic more Texan…..with an added swagger in my step due to my sore left glute. Pray that I heal fast. I have a couple more shots lined up this week to quicken my recovery. Herpes is not cool. Oh yeah so Sunday night…aka Last night…I did not sleep at all….the Shingles kept me awake. I love it. I debated taking the day off….but I thought “I’m supposed to be from Texas”….therefore, I Cowboyed Up and rocked out all day at school. Please make the pain go away. I need some hydrocodeine or something.