A few days ago I had my second shingles shot

The side effects were pretty severe

Muscle pains and fever knocked me out for 36 hours

I wanted to understand why my body was reacting this way

So last night while sleeping I asked for a meeting

I requested somebody in charge of my antibodies to explain everything to me

A nice chap called James showed up

He introduced himself as the COO in charge of my body’s defenses

James explained that he has been working diligently since I was born

As I new baby my defenses were under developed

Daily attacks from viruses, bacteria, toxins and pathogens threatened my existence

James said that each attack was fought off by front line soldiers in my white blood cells

They are the white knights who engage in hand to hand combat with these enemies

Over time they build up experience of which weapons work best for specific invaders

The white knights have access to huge armory of weapons stored in my body

I asked James what the shingles vaccine was all about

He reminded me that I had chicken pox as a child

The white knights spent a couple of weeks slaying most of the chicken pox viruses

But a few escaped and went into hiding in remote parts of my body

They can reemerge many years later in the form of a shingles virus

Nobody wants the extreme pain and discomfort of shingles said James

He congratulated me on deciding to get the shingles vaccine

I sent out extra white knights to battle with the shingles viruses

They captured multiple virus particles and brought them to the armory

Shingles weapons were developed and manufactured in the armory for future use

I asked James why I was so sore after the shingles vaccine

He explained that the vaccine distributed inert shingles virus particles all over my body

The white knights set out to destroy them and evict their remains

Unfortunately the intense fighting creates inflammation in your muscles

The massive activity in your blood stream raises your temperature for a while too

James said this only lasts a day or two at most

Then the new shingles weapons are put back in the armory in case of future attacks

I thanked James for his explanations and suggested he give the white knights a day off 

Sorry I cannot do that said James, that would allow the enemy to sneak in and make you sick

James explained that my white knights work 24/7 to keep me alive and healthy

I asked James what I could do to help the white knights do their job

Eat a good diet, exercise and try to sleep well without too much alcohol or stimulants he said

Oh and never pass over an opportunity to get vaccinated he stressed

Think of the vaccination as a training exercise for your white knights

Having more weapons in their armory improves your chances of living a long life

I thanked James for the meeting and slept soundly the rest of the night