Of course I am hitting a special moment where it will be very soon 10 years I have been diagnosed with AML and so being at Chapter 1 of this blog. Nevertheless almost every year when I reach mid-November I get sick one way or another…

Most of the early years were not really to be highlighted but this year is special I guess… I was feeling tired after all the travels mentioned in Chapter 64 Giving Back and back in the office I could feel there was something wrong with me hence my decision to go back home on the Tuesday evening… I definitely made the right decision there.

All my joints were hurting, back pain, feeling weak, … of course I thought I got hit by the flu and I did not get vaccinated yet… in my mind it was a bit more chaotic than just simply think it is the normal usual flu but as I was also feeling dizzy and sometimes had to be careful not losing my balance, I was more comparing myself to where I was 10 years ago! On top of that I had some high fever which is never a good sign and in this case, clearly an infection going on somewhere.

As you read in Chapter 1 we were also thinking it was a flu to end up with a leukaemia hence my stress to be honest… the worst stoke me when my GP confirmed that it was not the flu, another viral attack but not the flu. Here you go, feeling like a decade ago and no clear diagnosis and heavy on antibiotics and paracetamol.

Yes indeed the paranoia was on and so for a couple of days and also trying not to share these thoughts with the family as I am sure they will over react one way or the other. The light came a couple of days later when I woke up and realised my skin had some issues.

I did not pay any attention but I though starting to feel slightly better till my wife came down for breakfast and asked me what was going on… I asked her what she was talking about to end up checking my skin and I realised that indeed I had rashes all over the place. We then called the clinic to send a GP ASAP and one hour later, all done and dusted! Chicken Pox!!!

I wanted to share this with all as I realised over time that this does not go away and talking to others having been through similar experiences, it is common behaviour. I hope that year after year it will decrease in intensity so that I can react in a more healthy way and go for normal reaction when I get hit, even severely, by whatever virus and so also trust the statistics that say I am not more likely to get an AML than anyone else.

I am now getting ready to go back to work and have another few travels this year to finish on a strong note… as usual many thanks for reading all this and still supporting me!