Lil Health Update

Hey folks!

So it looks like I'll be on track to start recording again next week. I just wanted to let everyone know what has been going on and to thank everyone for their patience given that early release has slipped on a couple of shows, and Bonfireside Chat skipped a week.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a non covid cold. I worked through it just fine, but during that time, I think I zonked myself to sleep to hard and ended up with a very similar injury to the one I had a few years back (detailed in Episode 264 of Abject Suffering). It started as mildly inconveniencing, as you can hear on last week's guppy episode, and then became a full blown nightmare. The first half of the outer wilds recording I was able to struggle through but some serious grumpies came through. However, we got to a break where I had to tap out. The next day, I went to Urgent Care.

Urgent Care is pretty useless, as you probably know. They told me I hadn't had a stroke, and just said to take tylenol and ice it, and they gave me a muscle relaxer for sleep. I did those things, but the problem got worse. SO MUCH WORSE. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't sit at my computer, I couldn't stand or sit on the couch. I basically couldn't do anything. I have a medical condition which prohibits me from taking NSAIDs, so I couldn't take an ibuprofin or anything. I had to settle for tylenol, the novelty pain reliever that doesn't work. It got so bad I couldn't put on my clothes by myself. Luckily, my girlfriend was there to help with all of this.

I ended up returning to urgent care 2 days later because I was sure something was Very Very Wrong with my body. They took an x-ray which basically destroyed me. Trying to stay still while they x-ray'd my neck had me shaking and sweating. The doctor was about to send me home again with another american health care shrug, but I insisted she give me something. Rather than given me pain meds, thanks opiate crisis, she put me on an aggressive course of steroids. This has actually helped a lot! I feel like I fast-forwarded through the very painful part of the shoulder thing and into the "your hand is numb and you drop things" phase. I'm speedrunning my old injury, gary-percent. 

Numb hand is making it hard to play games, but I can still record, so I'll be back baby! Also, I have a physical therapy appointment so hopefully I can determine what I'm doing to cause this shit, and how I can prevent it in the future. 

So, anyway, I just wanted to clue you folk in, given that you're my livelihood, and also let you know that I'll be back this week. And thank you very much for your patience!

Your valentine,

-Gary-