When asked to reflect upon my life, and look back at the moments that were special to me, there is always one day that instantly comes to mind. It seemed to be the ultimate silver lining of a dark cloud that has affected me many times in my life.
You see, when most people get poison ivy, they get a small red rash on their skin that is terribly annoying at worst. For me however, the story is much different. When I brush up against a poison ivy plant I can expect to spend the next ten days constrained to my house. When I get poison ivy, I don't just get a small irritating rash, I get something much worse. It starts off similarly enough; the first sign is an astonishingly strong itching sensation on the directly effected area. From there, the area becomes red and textured with numerous tiny bumps, an ominous sign of what I'm actually in for.
Picture of hole cards in a game of texas hold 'em
An image of a person playing the poker varient, Te...
Texas Hold 'Em Poker (video game)Within a day, the effected area would double in size, and what were once hundreds of tiny bumps become fewer, larger blisters. With time these blisters grow larger and spread. By far the worst part comes next, but to spare the gory details, I'll just say that when these blisters burst, I look more like a leper than a person suffering from a common rash.
When I was 15, I was unlucky enough to have brushed my hand up against some poison ivy whilst walking through the woods. Of course, there was no way for me to know at the time, so there was no need for me to think twice before resting my chin on my palm, or rubbing my eyes with my hands. Needless to say I found myself bedridden three days later.
Having more free time on...