Aware of the increasing risk of monkeypox for gay men, Brian Rice administered his first dose of monkeypox vaccine on July 13. Eight days later, he discovered a lesion. near his genitals.
When Mr. Rice, 43, went to his dermatologist that day for his annual cancer check-up, he asked the doctor to check. The doctor examined his pain through a magnifying glass, then showed Mr. Rice the entire wound. “He said, ‘It’s no big deal, give it a few days, it’ll go away,'” said Rice, an HIV-positive cancer survivor.
But it doesn’t go away. Instead, the damage is growing. By Monday, July 25, new symptoms began: pain, itching, and swelling of the penis, as well as discharge.
He made an appointment with his primary care provider.
“The nurse practitioner looked at the wound and said, ‘It looks like a classic monkey pox wound,'” said Mr. Rice. Paramedics swabbed it and sent samples for testing, but because Mr. Rice’s HIV status places him in a high-risk group, he was told to start taking Tpoxx immediately.
“I turned to stone,” he said.
When Mr. Rice got home, he moved into the living room of the home he shared with her husband, Jason, in Cliffside Park, NJ. He started using the guest bathroom and kept the kitchen towels separate. And he held his dog at arm’s length, to the animal’s panic and confusion.
At first, the increased pain in the genitals made it more difficult for you to sleep, but the drug soon had a noticeable effect. The pain and swelling eased, and so did his anxiety.
