varicella-zoster and Japanese goodies
Varicella-zoster, aka the chickenpox virus, put me into isolation last week, an experience so similar to the one I was thrust into during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It did bring a certain nostalgia of what was 2020 — the state of being cooped up at home, alone in a room, with only so much to do. Fortunately, this time around, I wasn’t mentally shaken by uncertainty, anxiety, and fear of my imminent death and my loved ones’.
This period of isolation also brought up the realization that it has already been 4 years since that somber period in time.
It’s been four years since I left the country for travel and four years since I have become a “digital nomad.” Despite these biting reminders of time, changes in my career, and yearning to be in another place, this 2-week deep isolation truly reminded me of how lucky I was to have people in my life care for me – with icky blisters popping in my body and all.
I had food and medications purchased from the drugstore prepared for me, leaving me to just rest and convalesce.
It took me a little while to process the shock, stress, and pain of being infected the second time — which is actually rare, according to my GP — but being tended to in moments of physical incapacitation and mental vulnerability somehow made sense of this second encounter with varicella-zoster.
What’s more, I was gifted kawaii stationery goodies fresh from Japan!