Gay Monkeypox Patients Speak of Pain and Loneliness
A Texas man who contracted monkeypox received a lot of mixed attention after sharing images of the progression of the infection, which has manifested itself in part on his face.
By sharing his MPV experience in public, the gay Houstonian says he hopes to raise awareness about its prevalence while also removing the stigma and bringing attention to its isolation.Following the Fourth of July holiday, Wesley Wallace traveled to Austin for Hippie Hollow Otter Fest, a weekend event attended by queer men on Lake Travis, to have a leisurely time on the water.“It’s a lake, boat, shoreline kind of thing,” the 42-year-old tech professional tells The Advocate.When he returned from the weekend of drinking, socializing, and soaking up some rays, he noticed some irritation on his face, which he attributed to shaving and wearing sunscreen while baking in the sun.
When another blister-like dot appeared on his chin on Tuesday, he assumed it was a pimple, but he could not pop it.After the sores started to grow the next day, he thought, Monkeypox, monkeypox.
Then, when he woke up Friday, he knew something was wrong because his body aches and swollen lymph nodes made him feel unwell.“And so I thought, God, I already know,” he says, “I know what this is.” He says he was aware that Quest Diagnostics had just come online to test for MPV, so he called his doctor and asked for a test.Ultimately, his doctor did not require a test result to recognize that he had MPV.
