Shingles

In the evening of Boxing Day, my mom noticed rash on one side of my chest wall. She suspected that I had shingles. I went to a medi-centre the next morning and the doctor confirmed the diagnosis. I started on anti-viral medication right away.

My mom is glad that she is with me when this happens because she can take care of me. It would have been a big worry for her if I were in Edmonton while she is here in Vancouver to visit Emily and Peter. Since I am not able to tell her what bothers me, she has to count on her observations to assess how I am doing.

I have spiked a fever for the first two nights and I get cranky some of the time. Other than these, I appear to cope well with no evidence of pain or distress.

Despite the shingles, I am having a great time here because when I get tired of one activity, Peter and Emily come up with something different for me to do. Whenever I can articulate what I want clearly, I get my wish. The following are examples of what I have successfully asked for:

* "silent night" - This is my current favorite music.

* "bubble" - the Bomomo game.

* "trees" - Peter and Emily have a Sims game. Peter gives me a piece of land to build a forest. I have fun putting in Christmas trees, palm trees and many other different kinds of trees to fill up the entire lot.

* "bed" - I saw Peter furnishing homes with beds. When I ask for "bed", I get my turn to play with moving beds all over the place.

* "house" - Then I got interested in house designs creating funny looking structures. I am not as interested in beds any more because I have found speakers and stereo systems to move around.

* "windmill" - Peter created a game for me. I can make windmills spin when I say numbers. When I say "two", the windmill with 2 blades spins. Sometimes I ask for this game by saying a number. Generally, I say "two" or "six".

* "car" - Peter taught me a Wii car game. My favorite is the Moo Moo Meadow course because it has a windmill. So, when I say, "car" and "windmill", they know exactly what I want.

* "dinosaur" - This is a create a creature game. I have created a few unique creatures. Everybody laughs at the one with a big tummy, which looks like it is pregnant.

* "shopping" - I am not really interested in shopping. All I want to do is to look at fans, speakers and Christmas trees.