my friends call me herpes and rash

immediately, i apologize for the title, but, it is a direct quote from me to this guy named andy that i met this week during one of my 2 sick days.  see, i (jeff) have herpes simplex, meaning specifically that i get a single cold sore on the middle of my bottom lip sometimes when i get stressed.  not to be confused with the other herpes, which is an STD of epic proportions, is a viral infection that i will never get rid of nonetheless.  i say this because i had a rash this week.

i realized on monday morning, at school, that i had a rash spreading on the palms of my hands.  i was rightfully concerned, since a girl at our school had just been in the hospital for what they thought was the german measles.  so, i left school, with jessey (who conveniently had a small rash on her arm (unrelated, and not worth leaving sick for)), and went to the arab medical center.  the neurologist who looked at my rash (that's not a punchline) said it was nothing to worry about and told me to get an antihistamine because it was probably an allergy.  i wasn't too sure that he had a clue what he was talking about, since he's generally more concerned with my synapses than my skin.  

wednesday morning, the rash (which was now more like blisters on my hands) was spreading, so i decided it would behoove me to go to a dermatologist to get it looked at, which is what i did.  the dermatologist told me i was having a reaction to the herpes simplex and prescribed me some ointment to put on it.  the problem was, i couldn't find a pharmacy that had the ingredients to make the concoction of healing balm.  i felt better about my hands, yet thought it was ironic that i was basically allergic to the virus in my body.  can that happen?

today, the princess called me into her office (yes, this is normal) to ask me how i was feeling, having been out sick twice this week.  i told her i wasn't any better, and i wasn't really too sure that i had a clue what was wrong with me still.  she, being a true product of monarchy, didn't think that was okay, so she basically forced me to go to the "specialist hospital" to have a dermatologist she knew look at my hands.  she had her "people" set up an appointment for me after school.  my third appointment this week.

when we arrived to the hospital, i told a guy at the reception that i worked for the princess and that she had set up an appointment for me.  never before have i felt so special (and so out of place), especially when they offered to let us sit in a more comfortable room to wait (disgusting).  we refused the offer.  then a coalition of people came to greet me and then we were escorted by a nurse to a different building to see a dermatologist.  

here's the funny thing...the first dermatologist told me exactly the same thing that the second one did.  i'm having a reaction to my virus.  ridiculous.

we didn't have to pay for the consultation (this is called wasta in arabic, meaning knowing the right people), and then we were escorted into this private office in the hospital while the nurse went to retrieve my prescriptions.  also free, thanks to knowing the right people.

i'm looking forward to the rash going away and laughing to myself that i didn't need this second visit to the dermatologist.  but, after receiving the "royal treatment" today, i wondered about how ludicrous it is that i moved to a poor country from america and received free health care because i knew the right people.  i am grateful, yet slightly appalled by the disparity between the royal and the ragged.  someday, in the kingdom of heaven, there will be no gap, and the least will be the greatest.  i look forward to that day, and i thank allah that i (one of the least) was able to experience that kingdom in a small way today.