jvcastro

A Day in a Life of a Leper

In this superficial, material world, I have always thought that life without perfect skin, hot significant others, prestigious positions, respected parents, and impeccable clothes is the worst part of a man’s existence. For me and for the plethora of people in my social circle, stature, stardom, style, and self-importance are what mattered most. My perception of life, however, changed when the harsh realities of the existence of lepers slapped my worldly mentality.

            Until now, I have never seen a real leper in person, but I always catch a sight of them in photos. Painting a thousand words, a picture, indeed, captures the soul of the subject. When I set eyes on a gloomy photo of a man with a poignant countenance, I suddenly heard the calling of sympathy. Compared to the man’s mental, emotional, physical baggage, my sartorial quandary is completely pointless.

Leprosy 101

            Every time I encountered the word leper in my readings, and every time I hear it in conversations or on television, only one picture enters my imaginative mind—an image of a man’s rotting flesh with a bright yellow gangrene’s stench in the air. To my dismay, I visualized the wrong picture all the while. Leprosy or Hansen’s Disease does not cause rotting of the flesh; however, due to the body's extensive attempts to rid itself of the bacterium, defenses such as inflammation, cytokines, activated macrophages and other mechanisms cause tissue destruction and regeneration leading to excessive growth and eventually mutilation.

In both the Old and the New Testaments, leprosy was considered to be a punishment from God. Lepers were considered to be in the state of tsara’ath, or defilement. After some time, the Hebrew term was translated to lepros, from which came the word leprosy.

Without a doubt, the disease originated in Indus Valley in filthy India and made its way to lovely Mediterranean and North African regions; as a matter of fact, al of Europe was affected. I found it easier to breathe when I learned that the disease is much less common now. Reliable statistics show that less than 5 per cent of the world’s population is susceptible although the disease is found more frequently in countries where nutrition is poor like Brazil, Madagascar, India, Tanzania, Nepal, Myanmar, and, of course, Philippines. Expect for my country, the rest have 90% of Hansen’s disease cases. In the western hemisphere, however, about 336,000 cases are registered annually; alarming worldwide figures indicate about 5.25 million registered cases and about 10 million estimated sufferers.

Touch me not

            Wounds scare me to death; the horrible sight of it in my body is unbearable so I do whatever it takes to completely heal it as fast as possible. Fortunately, blisters disappear in a matter of days unlike a leper’s. However, for those unfortunate victims, the earliest symptom is often anaesthia or loss of sensation in a patch of skin. When infiltrated, The mucous membranes of the nose, mouth, and throat may be invaded by large numbers of the organism. Because of damage to the nerves, muscles may become paralyzed. The loss of sensation that accompanies the destruction of nerves may result in unnoticed injuries. These may result in secondary infections, the replacement of healthy tissue with scar tissue, and the destruction or absorption of bone. The classic disfigurements of leprosy, such as loss of extremities from bone damage or the so-called leonine facies, a lion-like appearance with thick nodulous skin, are signs of advanced disease, now preventable with early treatment.

            Puzzling it is, but until now, the mode of transmission of Hansen's disease remains uncertain. Most investigators think that M. leprae is usually spread from person to person in respiratory droplets. What is known is that the transmission rate is very low so I don have to be that paranoid. In addition, approximately 95% of the population is naturally immune. Thank heavens!

The Right Treatment

            Again, science proved me wrong for thinking that leprosy is incurable and permanent. There is a remedy for Hansen’s disease after all. After using chaulmoogra oil as a cure for many years, a major breakthrough occurred in leprosy treatment in 1982. Vincent Barry, the Director of the Medical Research Council of Ireland, and his team of researchers introduced the Multi-Drug-Therapy, successfully testing hundreds of new compounds against mycobacteria, particularly leprosy. In addition, present-day therapy includes the use of drugs such as dapsone, rifampin, and clofazimine, and provision of adequate nutrition. Ironically, leprosy is perhaps the least infectious of all the contagious diseases.

            However, I was intrigued about Leprosy’s historical therapeutic background. In the Middle Ages, a very great number of Leprosaria—leper hospitals—sprang up like mushrooms. In England alone, there were 250 by the 1230’s.  These institutions were run along monastic lines, and while lepers were encouraged to live in these monastic type establishments, this was more for the health of their own souls than for any segregation policy. Indeed, in Christian tradition, those suffering from Leprosy were considered to be going through Purgatory on Earth, and for this reason their suffering was considered more Holy than the ordinary person's. Back then, it was also considered honorable to be infected with Han’s disease.

Leprosy’s Hall of Fame

            Even if I live in a clean, germ-free abode and eat healthful, nutritious victuals, I can still be infected by Han’s Disease—anyone can be a victim, human or animal, dirt-free or filthy, rich or poor, influential or helpless.

            In fact, some fabulous famous people suffered from Han’s Disease in their lifetimes. Henry (VII) of Germany, King of Sicily and Germany and Duke Swabia; Baldwin IV, Latin King of Jerusalem; Hallgrímur Pétursson, one of Iceland’s most famous poets and a pirest; and Aleijadinho, a Brazilian sculptor in the 1800’s, were all victims who were scarred by the wounds of Leprosy.

 Loving Leprosy

            Sounding mean, I find leprosy a foul palpable stain in our impeccable-looking imperfect society. But I should not look at the disease in a superficial point of view.

High School Antagonism

Bad blood, antipathy, and malediction are ubiquitous. Their presences appear in movies, in the news, in fairy tales, and in high school. The last comes bold, italicized, and underlined.

            Like a tacky telenovela, high school is full of heavy drama. We, as the infamous protagonist, saw ourselves spinning in the wheel of life. In the one hand, we triumphantly reaped the fruits of our labor, enjoying the sweet smell of success. We delighted in pleasure and celebrated joie de vivre like there was no tomorrow. Drinking endlessly, smoking excessively, and partying ecstatically were the few dark secrets hidden in our sly shadows. On the other hand, we touched the bottom and tasted the bitterness of life. Failing examinations and experiencing humiliation, it was inevitable, much to our chagrin, but we learned to live with it. All from natural causes, those were just few of the rewards and the challenges of our humdrum lives in high school.

            To add piquancy to our lacklustre existence, God created antagonists. They come in all shapes and sizes and pop up like filthy fungi. From the mountains of Payatas, from the graves of North Cemetery, from the mouth of Pasig, or even from nowhere, they entered our magnificent lives. They did wreck havoc to the world, did exasperate our nerves, did steal the limelight from the gullible, but they also did entertain us. Having them around was like a hangover: we craved for them, but once they arrived, we regretted the moment. We wanted the unwanted and unwanted the wanted. Nevertheless, let us be honest, their growing species added spice to our life. These beasts were easy to spot. They have discernible markings and telltale mannerisms that made them easy to shelve.

The Backstabber

            Cautiously hissing, this slithering snake poisons minds—both of the innocent and of the ignorant. With a rotting attitude, a backstabber models an invisible massive B engraving on his big bald forehead. He divulges his friends’ secrets to open a conversation with people he desires but cannot have. When this insecure quisling attacks us, he is either envy of or petrified by us. Since we are a million times more superior to him, this coward will never say his lies about us straight to our faces; instead, he will just spread dirt behind our backs. That is all a pathetic backstabber can ever accomplish. Well, we cannot blame him for having a dull existence.

The Gossipmonger

            Like the insecure backstabber, this elephant-eared creature needs tons of (tick your choice) rumors/tales/hearsays/scandals/tittle-tattle/cause célèbre/etc. to survive his insignificant life. However, he is much tamer and less appalling than his cousin above is. Eavesdropping is his favorite activity and whispering is his expertise. A Bombay merchant of the modern world, he loves to trade his goods only if you have what he desires—juicy gossip.

The Sycophant

            Among all adversaries, he is everybody’s favorite. He adores you like a god. Fine, he is an ally and easy to manipulate. Nevertheless, why did he make it to the list? His excessive flattery, obsequious sycophancy, and blind idolism are annoying. Faithfully, this stray dog follows you wherever you go. He, then, turns into a raucous hyena laughing at every joke you crack no matter how clichéd, corny, and absurd it is. Finally, he personifies the Pokemon Ditto and copies your actions, your clothes, your brand, and your style. Beware: he will do everything to please you.

The Social Climber

            There are no mountains high enough for this great pretender. Fast as a skin color changing chameleon, they easily adapt to different social environments. Life for the poseur is an ascending catwalk; as a matter of fact, he will never stop until he reaches eminence and leaves a mark in the minds of people both above and below him. He always has ready-made fabricated stories to share in any available occasion. Yes, his relentless pursuit of fame is really impressive.

The Plastic

            Although hidden from a naïve person’s world, the species of this race are rampant and omnipresent and overpopulated. Wearing a beautifully crafted mask, he makes himself look the best by giving positive yet false ideas to others about his. People shall see the true ugliness of his personality. And he, who thinks true friends surrounded him, will realize that he has no friends at all. This favorite frenemie of ours is also schadenfreude feigning affection. Love it or hate it, it is not easy to burn and to melt a cold hard plastic. 

The Parasite

            A mendicant of high society, this leech sucks the energy of its gullible host. Participating in activities and gaining credit for it are just a few of his trademarks. Discreetly, he attaches himself to his friend or his acquaintance to fully benefit from his skill, talent, and intelligence. Once his true malicious motives are discovered, he leaves his host and moves to another gullible one. 

            There is a perfect synergy among all these villainous characters. Taking advantage of the sycophant, the parasite enjoys attaching himself to this servile flatterer. The thirsty gossipmonger, however, delights in the pretentious world of the ambitious social climber. Making our monotonous lives more exciting, the tension between the backstabber and the plastic are scenes to behold. They symbolize the bar of excellence in antagonism. Yes, they may be the wicked witch, the evil sorcerer, or the cruel stepmother in this fairytale called life—but just like all fairy tales—these antagonists eventually lose the battle in the end; as a result, we simply end up living happily ever after.