Hey guys,
     I know, long time, no see.  I've had a hellish few months.  

So, for those who didn't know, shortly after finishing the OWC that I ran, I got very ill.  I ended up with Shingles.  But, my problems didn't end there.

After they cleared up, I still had a great amount of pain in my head, next to my eye where they had been.  Turns out that I ended up with PHN  (post herpatic neurologia)  which was worse.  

Long story short, what happens is after we get the Chickenpox virus, it stays with us forever, mostly in the spleen.  While we can't ever get Chickenpox a second time, the virus can be reactiveted in the form of shingles.  Shingles you can get over and over and it can kill in certain cases.  The primary issue with Shingles is that the nerve endings are all elevated in the spots the blotches appear in.  

When the nerves stay elevated after the Shingles ends, the condition is called PHN.  

I've suffered with this since that day.  But, the real bite in the azz was that everything would cause flair ups.  Sun, wind, ELECTRONICS, mirrorrs, lights, etc.

Electronics have been really hard.  I am trying to build up my tolerance to electronics by being on them daily, but thus far, MONTHS after the onslaught, I still can't tolerate them.  I can't be on my computer anymore.  I can only be on a kindle or smart phone for very short periods of time.

So, I am so sorry that I fell off the earth of the planet.  But, I'm just not able to do anything right now.  It looks like it might be permanant.

Oh, Pia, I did get back to you when you emailed me, but, never heard back, so, I don't know if you got it or not.  Sorry guys.

Worst thing about all this is, I can't write.  I can't stay on the computer long enough to do anything.  Right now, just doing this and being on for about 20 min, my face feels like it's on fire.

So, I am forced into retirement.  I am very upset and have been for months.

I don't know how often I will be on here mostly bc I don't want to be in pain and the smaller electronics take forever to load.

However, I do check my email and it has speaker text, so, even if I can't write back, I can speaker text back.  Please forgive any errors if you see them.  Speaker text isn't very accurate.

So, the email is dancam1@yahoo.com.

And i will try to stop on perhaps to review a story or 2.  But, at least for now, I'm signing off, sadly.

My phone if anyone wanted to talk is 716 260 1164

Signing off for now, but not forever!!!  That's a promise
Dan Campisi

:D First off I thought this was a belated review posted for that 2010 epic Casey Affleck/Joaquin Phoenix  masterpiece.  Kidding about it being brill btw.

Dan, sorry to hear you were struck with shingles. Painful stuff indeed. Had a dose myself many moons ago.

Your referencing of electronics, mirrors,  etc.,  reminded me of  poor Chuck McGill in Better Call Saul, although Chuck's maladies clearly had a psychosomatic basis to them.

Very important you don't believe the post-llness is forever though, Dan.
You can recover.

All I can do is sympathise really and say: don't give up and don't give in!

And maybe remove your phone number from your post... Not advisable really.

Stay strong, get better and write... Even if it's in your head to begin with.
Recording devices should help with that. Tech today  can surely assist.

Happy and Healthy New Year to you, Dan.

Good luck, Dan.

Stay positive.

You don't need more than a pencil and a piece of paper to write, remember that.

You've got more fight in you than you that, Dan. I look forward to seeing you back.

Shingles is a bitch. Sorry, you have a severe version of that and even more sorry that you can't be around electronics too much but don't let that stop you writing. You need a creative outlet more than ever when you are suffering.

There's dictation software out there which can allow you to speak your stories without being too close to a keyboard and screen. Or you could go old skool and get a typewriter, even try writing with a pen and paper. If you have a need to write, you must write no matter what. There is always a way.

Keep your chin up pal.

-Mark

That's true, I wrote for twenty years just using pen and paper. Obviously not a viable option if you want to put your work out there, but typewritten manuscripts are still acceptable... especially if you make mention of the reason for sending it that way.

Use your pain and put it into your work. It will be interesting to see what you come up with.

I just looked up dictation software and it appears very reasonably priced. I hope you decide to give it a try. For some of us, maybe all of us, not being able to write is debilitating enough. To have it forced on you must be maddening. But I do hope you find a way.

Here’s hoping for health and happiness in the New Year!

Steve

Dan,

Delighted to hear you are alive and kicking.  Apologies for not calling regarding your notable absence at the last challenge.  I lost your phone number (new phone, who this?) and discovered today that I had your last name spelled wrong as I searched for it.  I am a very stupid man.  

One thought is to send you scripts with a SASE for which you can send back feedback.  And, vice versa.

Talk to you shortly.

Don

Unfortunate, Dan:

Do hope you are also investigating non-physical causes of your disorder. Electromagnetic hypersensitivity has never been an accepted physical diagnosis.  i.e., although the symptoms are really felt, there is not an underlying physical  cause.

As others have pointed out, writing does not require electronics. So you don't need to stop writing.

Best of  luck to you. Hoping that these symptoms are short lived.

Dan, really sorry about what you're going through. It was maddening when I had it, and that was just on my back with no PHN.

It did result in a funny exchange with the doctor.

DOCTOR
Yes, the vaccine helps even if you've
already had shingles. But I can't prescribe
the vaccine for you... you're too young to
be at risk for shingles.

FRANK
You JUST treated me for shingles.

DOCTOR
(shrugs)
Talk to the CDC.

Since the PHN cluster is near the eye, it may not be electronics per se causing the problem, but hypersensitivity to the eye strain.

In any case, I hope you find an effective treatment or it just goes away on its own. I'm surprised they didn't excise the small patch of skin as if it was a melanoma (unless it wasn't actually small).

Really sorry to hear that Dan, stay strong my friend!

Damn that sounds tough, man. Here's hoping you find something to alleviate symptoms in the future. There's other ways to write as have been mentioned so keep at it!

Sorry for your pain.
I wish you a speedy recovery.

Stay strong, man. Best of luck in your recovery.

Dan, so sorry to hear about your medical issues getting worse.

If you did email me, I don't remember right now if I received it or not, but I would have absolutely answered.

Hope you feel better soon.

May 2019 be a great year for you.

Pia

OH Dan!

So sorry about the shingles man! My mom had that and I can remember her talking about how painful it was!

Crazy thing happened to me... when I got the chicken pox as a child.. an old horse trainer told my mom that they could cure me by throwing a chicken over my head. And my parents were CRAZY enough to do just that. After they had tossed the pet chickens across me a few times. They took me inside and told me not to share what they had done to me at school. :)

BUT the pox went away... so just saying if you have some pet chickens around .. or if your neighbor has any perhaps... OMG I got chickens on the brain this week!

Anyway, I truly hope you feel better. You will be missed in the meantime!

Wishing you good luck..good health...and a great 2019. Feel better soon!

D

Amazingly the pox usually does go away. My kids got a couple spots and were fine other than that. Lasted around 2 days and it was gone. That's with the 4 boys anyway. The baby girl hasn't had it yet.

Hey, Dan.

Sorry to hear that. I'll give you a call. I just got back from a vacation, so will call you in a few days. You stay around, yeah.  And what Dustin says - use pen and paper!

Hey guys,
     Thanks all for the well wishes.  It means a lot.  

Pia it doesn't matter, what matters is that you wrote back now.  As I've always said, the past is the past.  Live for today because tomorrow isn't a guarantee.  

My face has felt better since the Xmas lights came down.  But, as soon as I put this laptop on, it started up.  

I will respond to each of you a different time.  Surprisingly enough, I don't particually like the feel of my face melting off.  Imagine that ;)

Don't worry, I'm not giving up, I just haven't figured out what to do next.  

I already have the dictation software.  It isn't very accurate.  I just got it about 2 or 3 years ago.  So, that isn't the answer.  

I could go back to pen and paper, or a OMG a typewriter, but, a computer is just so much easier.

I guess I could also try to write in 10 min increments till the pain gets too bad, but, boy is it hard to get anything finished like that.  

I could dictate my work if you know anyone who wants to type it all out :)  I know, don't we all want that??

Ok, I'm off

Dan

Hi Dan,

I'm glad to hear that you're feeling better. Hope you'll get over. KEEP WRITNG . It is better to do something every day to distract your pain.

Strangely enough, I posted the reply on January 2 but it disappeared. Don't know why.

Michael

Hey Dan,

Glad to see you are still around. Very sorry I haven't been in contact with you recently. I'll give you a call here soon so we can catch up. I know it's tough, man. But try to stay positive.

Zack