Why She Left the Business

WFLD (Chicago) Reporter Elizabeth Matthews has left The Firm’s station and the business altogether.

But unlike many, she did not leave to spend more time with her family or to take a job in PR.

Matthews left after she contracted shingles on her face and around her eye.

Many believe that shingles only happens to old people, yet Matthews was just 39 years old.

I want to interject a personal story here for just a second. When I was in my mid-thirties, I also contracted shingles and I can tell you it is very painful. For me, it was on my arm and although I went to work every day, I was in great pain. I can imagine that having shingles on your face can be brutal.

Matthews talked about her ordeal on the station’s website.

At the age of 39, I was diagnosed with shingles, and it was on my face, surrounding my eye.

After an urgent care visit confirming the diagnosis, I was told to make an emergency appointment with an ophthalmologist. 

"Shingles, it's common, but it's rare to affect the eye, but if it affects the eye it can be severe and vision threatening," said Dr. Shantan Reddy an ophthalmologist with Duly Health and Care. 

Dr. Reddy said my early eye appointments were crucial.  

A shingles rash isn't just on the surface, its nerve-based and when it’s on your face it attacks the trigeminal nerve. In my case the pain and rash were on the left side of my scalp, forehead, and eyelid.

"It can affect the cornea, which is the windshield of the eye in front of the eye and that's when it becomes painful. And then if it affects that structure then it can start to get complications of blindness," said Dr. Reddy. 

He says he’s seeing more and more shingles in younger patients, and no one really knows why. Doctors do know a weakened immune system and stress are major factors. 

"We're all more stressed emotionally, physically you know long hours. This all kind of suppresses the immune system. So very healthy patients can get this," said Dr. Reddy. 

My symptoms started with a terrible headache, so sharp by my left temple it stopped me in my tracks. That was followed by flu-like symptoms the same day and the rash didn't appear until three days later. Then the nerve pain kicked in and the itch lasted for weeks. 

Dr. Aabha Beri is my primary care doctor with Duly Health and Care and she explains shingles and chicken pox are, well, related.

"Once you have chicken pox it never really goes away it just goes and hides into the dorsal root ganglion, and it’s basically inside your nerves and when you are not looking, stressed out, boom, it just kind of reactivates itself," said Dr. Beri. 

Matthews posted about her exit on social media.