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This year, professional baseball player LaTroy Hawkins has joined the campaign! LaTroy suffered from shingles last year and still experiences postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) today. As a campaign spokesperson, he will share his story and discuss how he manages the PHN pain with patients and caregivers all over the country. Read more about LaTroy’s story below.
This year’s campaign kicked off on Monday, May 3, 2010 with an educational event in Los Angeles. Similar to the 2009 events, attendees heard presentations about PHN symptoms and ways to cope, met others affected by PHN and had an opportunity to create individual quilt squares to tell their story about how PHN has affected their lives. Read more about the event below.
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LaTroy Hawkins, a professional baseball pitcher, has joined our educational initiative to help raise awareness of after-shingles pain.
When LaTroy was diagnosed with shingles, he didn't even remember having chicken pox as a child. In fact, his mother had to remind him that he had chicken pox when he was about eight years old. Twenty-eight years later, shingles, which is actually a reactivation of the chicken pox virus, appeared—starting with a stiff pain in the middle of his back, which he first noticed on his way to a baseball game.
"As a professional pitcher, back and shoulder pain is something you deal with on a regular basis, but this was no ordinary pain," described Hawkins, who was initially treated for a muscle strain. When a rash finally appeared on his back his doctors realized it was actually shingles and treated it with anti-viral medication. "Unfortunately for me," Hawkins explained, "My doctor said the virus was too far along for the anti-virals to really work. The damage was already done."
Through his doctor's care and a treatment plan, Hawkins was eventually able to get back in the game. Now, he is excited to spread the word about the Patchwork of Hope Network to help shingles and PHN sufferers understand that they are not alone.
"I've joined the Patchwork of Hope Network to raise awareness of after-shingles pain and hopefully help educate more men and women on this often debilitating and isolating condition." – LaTroy
Born in Gary, Indiana, Hawkins was 22 years old when he made his first appearance as a big league pitcher in 1995. Since then he has had a fortunate career, including an unbelievable 23 consecutive saves in 2001 and a 1.86 ERA in 2003. In 753 career games Hawkins has a 4.51 ERA and has posted a 1.71 ERA over the past two seasons.
Click here to read more about the Patchwork of Hope Network and LaTroy's experience with shingles and after-shingles pain on AfterShingles.com. This campaign is made possible with support from Endo Pharmaceuticals.
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If you or someone you know is suffering from shingles or after-shingles pain, you are not alone. Every year, approximately 1 million Americans will develop shingles1. And one out of every five people who have suffered from shingles may go on to develop after-shingles pain2. For some PHN patients, a gentle breeze or a slight change in temperature can cause excruciating pain3.
The Patchwork of Hope NetworkTM (P.H.N.) visited the west coast to kick off the 2010 campaign in Los Angeles on May 3. Local physician, Bruce Ferrell, M.D., professor of Clinical Medicine in the Department of Medicine and Division of Geriatrics at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, and professional baseball pitcher LaTroy Hawkins drew an audience of 130 older adults to the Pan Pacific Senior Center. Attendees enjoyed breakfast before the educational seminar, where they learned about shingles and PHN and available treatment options.
After the seminar, LaTroy mingled with attendees and graciously posed for photos with the audience. Members of the Santa Monica Quilt Guild lent their quilting expertise and assisted attendees with decorating quilt squares. Following the consumer educational event, local aging professionals attended a more informal session to learn how to host their own P.H.N. event.
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AfterShingles.com is an educational resource that offers tools and information to
help educate consumers about shingles and after-shingles pain, its impact on people's
lives and steps to help manage this condition.
Through AfterShingles.com, you can also connect with a network of individuals who
have been affected by shingles and PHN. The Patchwork of Hope Network
(P.H.N.) brings together sufferers and supporters through the design of both a virtual
and physical quilt in honor of those impacted by the condition.
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Is shingles contagious?
Shingles is generally not contagious; however it can be2. Shingles occurs only when the virus in a person's body becomes active3. Generally, contact with an infected person or your loved one coughing or sneezing will not cause shingles4.
Contact with a person with shingles could lead to chicken pox in someone who has never had chicken pox or who has not received the varicella vaccine4.
The main period when your loved one may become contagious is when they develop blisters with clear fluid and the rash covering the blisters has not developed crusts. The virus can spread through the skin of any healthy person (who never had chickenpox in his/her life) that comes into contact with any open wounds/rashes/blisters of the patient suffering from shingles disease1.
If the medicine isn't helping, should we go to a different healthcare professional?
Tell your healthcare professional if the medicine isn't helping. Another type of treatment may help. Your healthcare professional also may refer you to a specialist such as a neurologist or pain specialist. Try to find a healthcare professional who has experience treating PHN with whom you can discuss available treatment options.
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Take our virtual poll! Do you suffer from pain caused by postherpetic neuralgia (PHN)? What kind of PHN pain relief do you currently use?
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