The Triumphant Return To School

I have now been back at school a full week. Still, I just do not feel right. Chicken Pox really does take it out of your body and I do feel very drained. I can tell I have been ill. I know that sounds silly, but if you have Chicken Pox, you will know what I mean a week later. I cannot help but think maybe I went back to school a bit too early – maybe instead of going back on the Wednesday I should have left it until the beginning of the following week. I went back to school as soon as I was no longer contagious, as a responsible person would. However, I don’t think my body had time to recover and get over it all. It is quite a big shock to the system. Anyone who has had a computer virus will know that a computer will be fine, then all-of-a-sudden... BAM! Now the computer doesn’t know what to do, it is beginning to panic. It was so unexpected. Now, I’m not a doctor, but I assume there is a loose connection there somewhere.

I am not particularly sure what I was expecting on my first day back at school. Without trying to sound like I am trying write a speech for JD to say at the end of a Scrubs episode; after being ill for such a long time and being home, alone and away from the people you care about, you plan in your mind how glorious it will be to be reunited. I over thought everything I fear. I was not expecting balloons and banners saying ‘Welcome Back’ on them, because I would have hated that, but it did not live up to the expectations I had hoped for. The thought of being back with my friends did, in a way (and I am honestly trying to not sound cheesy), did help me through the times when I felt low while sitting at home, reading status updates from them implying they were having fun without me.

My return was okay. I got hugs and people told me they missed me. My classmates asked numerous questions, with the main one being ‘Are you contagious still?’ – not thinking about me, but themselves. I got asked by teachers if ‘I was allowed back yet’. I got given plenty of work to catch up on. I sat in a room full of obnoxious, loud-mouth sports academy students who sit and watch the same, unfunny American comedy every day, and still fall about in annoying laughter. I sat quietly at the same table, listening to the latest gossip. To be honest, my first day back at school was like any other normal day at school. My return was not important.

I have spent 5 days at school now. I have been to all my lessons and now realising the true extent to my 7 days off school. With exams looming pretty darn quick, taking a week and a half out of school was not a clever thing to do. I have a crazy amount of work to catch up on, but then on the other hand, thanks to me missing my photography exam, I only have a fraction on the work I should. The past two weeks I should have been rushing around making sure I had everything all set up and finished after my exam, and making sure the exhibition would be up to standards. Now, I have no need to worry about any of that – until next year.

That is assuming I can do Photography next year, because I was expecting as part of my ‘welcomed’ return to school, the teachers would be very helpful in getting everything set up. A week later and I am still waiting to find out what the final outcome will be for missing my photography exam, and seeing as teachers do not seem keen on helping me now, I still do now know anything. I want to know if I can stay on another year and retake my Photography. I want to know if I can postpone my ICT coursework, so I have another year to get it to the highest level. I want to know if I can retake English, and I also want to know if I am even allowed to stay on another year. It seems like I have annoyed my teachers by getting Chicken Pox and taking an unprecedented 7 days off school as a results.

I am still in ore at how much my life has changed, ‘thanks’ to Chicken Pox. University held back a year and instead having to spend another year at school. Yes, the place where I am beginning to hate being, I have to stay at another year. I was looking forward to the fact that in under 2 months, I would never have to return to school. Now, I have to wait another 13 months until I get that pleasure. The phrase ‘Life’s a bitch’ has never been more appropriate in my life.

I am glad to be back though. I am healing very well and my skin has never looked clearer. Somehow, getting Chicken Pox has in some way healed my back acne. How long that will last I do not know, but I am comforted by the fact that I have not got scabs and spots on my face. I think it will not be long until I post my final blog entry on here when I am fully healed. I am only left with a few scabs on my body, but will be left with numerous scabs I fear. Not to worry – we all need some war wounds...

Ciao For Now...

Day Four & Five Of Chicken Pox

In comparison to Wednesday and how I looked and felt, at this stage of the dreaded virus I looked beautiful and could do anything. However, the bitter reality is that I was from beautiful (by this, I mean my normal state, which on a normal average day isn’t anything great) and I couldn’t do anything really. Thursday and Friday (Day Four and Five) I was not planning on sitting in bed at 10 in the morning watching the Jeremy Kyle show in disgust while laughing at a woman’s high pitched voiced telling me about her cheating husband while clutching a tissue, I was indeed suppose to be sitting my Photography Exam.  Thursday was indeed a very low and depressing day for me...

After I had an uncomfortable night Tuesday, which caused me to be incredibly tired and sleepy Wednesday, I was happy to sleep the entire night through Wednesday, so this was a big morale booster for Thursday and Friday for me. You find that sleep is very uncomfortable with Chicken Pox. It feels like you are sleeping on a pillow made of Rice Krispies. Also, you find during the night you not only wake up with more spots on your torso, but that’s you’ve scratched. I spend the entire day concentrating on not scratching any part of my body in order not to be left with scaring, but then I go and ruin it during the night.

Everyone knows that when you get Chicken Pox, it covers your body and you get them everywhere. However, people don’t realise that it is EVERYWHERE. Without going into too much detail, your genitals do not escape this virus. Alarming is the fact that Chicken Pox is actually from the Hepatitis family. Essentially, I have tried my best not to look. Itching is the worse. I thought my chest and back was bad, but as soon as the spots popped up around my manhood, I forgot about all other itching. As I’ve said, you can only control yourself when you’re awake, so let us just say I am paying for scratching during the night. A lot of cream has been used. Just painful. The Doctor never told me about that. He told me about everything else to expect from Chicken Pox, apart from that one fact that I, as a man, found very important.

Chicken Pox are compared to Volcano’s a lot. You don’t develop Chicken Pox spots, or they don’t just ‘come out’. Instead, the medical term for getting Chicken Pox spots is an eruption. My sick note contains the words ‘...when Stuart erupted into Chicken Pox’. I read the word ‘erupted’ a lot on the Internet as well when reading about this, and to me it just sounds like a Journalist from The Sun wrote all the medical journals about Chicken Pox. It sounds much sensationalised. They’re Chicken Pox, and they are not nice, but I do not think they really need to be exaggerated to that level.

(Next paragraph not for the squeamish)

The reason I think that Chicken Pox are described as a Volcano is this: The spot appears like a normal spot which one of a similar age to me will get every few days due to being a teenager. Then of course after a day or so, the spot bursts and lovely puss comes out the top, much like an erupting Volcano. Then, the crust will dry and harden; like the lava from a Volcano once it has cooled. This allows the spot to heal, before that falls off and reveals a scab which will inevitably follow suit and then, fingers crossed, no scaring will be found.

(Welcome back squeamish reader(s))

My face seems to be about a day ahead of the rest of my body, with it by Friday already beginning to recover. After it was incredibly swollen in mid-week, Friday it had calmed down and beginning to scab over to heal. Good news. However, I am a person who likes to be clean and shaven. I don’t do stubble, beards, goatees, moustaches, or any other facial hair. I’ve not Shaved since Saturday, so by Friday, it was an entire week. It doesn’t help as I am not sure whether my face is itching as a result of the scabbing or the mass of hair. I cannot shave until the scabs have healed because any damage done to them, could result in me having scars on my. Not good at all. I want this Chicken Pox to finish; not so I can return to school and see my friends, but just so I can go back to having a lovely shave.

I have not been able to work out the origin of my Chicken Pox. Apart from the fact that Chicken Pox is a virus which is very easily shared amongst other people by contact or by air-borne molecules. However, it has been pointed down to Margate, a seaside place in the east of Kent. The area is currently in the midst of a Chicken Pox ‘pandemic’ (I use that word very uselessly though) and about two weeks ago, I went there with my friends, ironically to allow me to do some Photography work. I now hate Margate, and I would appreciate it if anyone reading this would join me in fist-shaking in the general direction of Margate. Point your fist – AND shake it in anger.

Thank-you.

Ciao for now!