Shingles
Saturday morning I awoke to the start of a Shingle job starting on my face. I didn’t know what was happening but I had suspicions. My Doc, at an annual physical, 3 weeks ago at the end of the exam suggested that I get a Shingles. shot I listened to his thoughts on the subject and was thinking about it and asked what this would add to the cost of my visit.
The shot would cost $200 and is not covered by any insurance was the answer.
Since I couldn’t think of anyone I knew who had Shingles and the cost of my hour in the office would now approach $1000. I deferred. He hadn’t found anything seriously wrong after detailed examination with .blood tests , EKG, knocking my knees and peering into every orifice available. What could be the likelihood of Shingles?
I now know someone who has Shingles and realize how cheap $200 would have been if it had helped avoid this experience. Believe me this is brutal. The pain is considerable, the head is pounding and joints ache and looking in the mirror does not help. I look like Quasimodo without the hump.
Once the contagious period ends I can reappear in public but first I need to find a Phantom of the Opera mask to wear until things repair. This usually takes a couple of weeks which is close to a trip East for a college reunion and visits to family and friends.
Hopefully things will be in good enough shape by then that I won’t leave grandchildren with nightmares.
Enhanced Interrogation Techniques have been a daily news item. Lying in bed with the Shingles has put into my sometimes strange thought process a comparison between Shingles and water boarding. If I could take a water boarding in place of this experience I would sign up in a minute. I read that the CIA water boarded some terrorist 87 times over a short period. He didn’t drown or die. If someone gave me the Shingles repeatedly it would be far less than 87 times before I gave up the information or gave up the ghost. I don’t suggest injecting this virus as a new method of interrogation but rather to stimulate thought as what becomes torture and perhaps more important is what value is gained by painful interrogation techniques
Nancy Pelosi has once again displayed her vapid thought process by first denying she had been briefed on EIT, then saying she didn’t know they were going to use it and then simply blathered. She is really scary and more interested in her own agenda of political gain than in intelligently addressing an important issue.
She wants to prosecute Republicans. Forget terrorists, torture and how to interrogate most effectively. She wants Cheney and the Republicans as an issue to dominate media attention until the 2010 elections. This is all about maintaining her leadership position in the House.
She doesn’t have to go far to find experts on the subject. The FBI doesn’t use Advanced Interrogation Technique to gain useful intelligence. If she really wanted to gain some real information on the subject I’m sure that the Director of the FBI would have a few of his agents sit down for a few hours and talk about their approach. I know she could gain insight on the important end issue, which is the information gained. The CIA might also cooperate in a less open discussion as to methods and results. The CIA is an interesting group of talented people with a difficult job to do while fending off politicians. There are too many of the Nancy type, who do not take the time to deal with the real issues, of threats to our nation, unless clear political gain is attached. It is little wonder that the CIA is a little spooky operating in the shadows, when people like Pelosi and Carter pop up every few years with a new reason to diminish our intelligence activity. They CIA agents have enough to do remembering their name being used for the day without looking over their shoulder to see what Congressional committee is threatening them with criminal charges.(It can be disconcerting on the way to a meeting with someone you met as George Smith to tell you “I’m not George today I”m Harry Jones-no smiles involved)m
Dealing with Shingles has focused me on pain which has kept me immobile for a few days. I’m happy to be back on board hoping to help Nancy find a job she is qualified to handle. That is a really painful task
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Buck
My sympathies. I hope your case is mild and short lived.
I did get the vaccine about a month ago because My doctor is a helluva salesperson.Anyone in the plus 55 years who had chicken pox as a kid should certainly give the shot consideration.
Frank Gothie
fgothie@verizon.net