Rheumatic Fever

You had a throat infection. The doctors called it streptococcal, perhaps there were antibiotics, perhaps it cleared up on its own. You thought the matter was settled. And then, weeks later, something strange began. The joints hurt — today the knee, tomorrow the wrist, the day after the shoulder. The fever came back. Your heart beat restlessly, as though it were no longer quite fully engaged. And someone said the word to you that has not gone away since: rheumatic fever.

Medically, the mechanism is now well described. Your immune system formed antibodies against the streptococci. These antibodies can no longer distinguish certain structures of the body from the bacteria — and attack what belongs to you. Joints, heart valves, skin, nervous system. A defensive battle that can no longer tell friend from foe.