Operations Update

 Hi All.

In September I mentioned that operations would be limited due to health issues.  There are several regulars who visit this site and not my Facebook page so here is a rather long winded update.

All year I have been dealing with increasing abdominal pain and fatigue amongst other things. The abdominal pain prevented me from working in the shop for more than a couple hours at a time. Anyone who understands anatomy knows that the "core" of the body is involved in pretty much any and all movement. Almost every activity in my ship requires bending, twisting, leaning over, etc. 

I finally visited a doctor in August and he found several problems all related to the cancer surgery in 2012. When the cancer doc did the surgery he really did not take into account the nervous system...he just chopped out the the tumor and the margins and whatever nerves were in the way just got chopped out.

So, I had a procedure to help me swallow...yeah, I was having trouble swallowing food and drink. 

In late October the surgeon who had tried to fix the shit hernia repair situation back in 2016 went in to fix yet another hernia that had popped up.  When he went in he found things in my abdomen were much, much worse than the MRI had shown.  After he got in there he found that the muscles in my abdomen looked like "swiss cheese."  The hour-long surgery turned into an almost 5 hour procedure. The surgeon had to take apart the muscle layers, fix all the rips, insert more mesh in between those layers and then rebuild my abdominal wall with even more mesh.  I spent almost 6 weeks in bed. My activity was limited to shuffling around the house, using the toilet, showering and taking my oxycodone and morphine.

I just had a follow-up with the surgeon this week and he was quite irate that I was doing simple things like sweeping the hard-wood floors.  He said that if everything goes perfectly I might be at 75-80% healed by the beginning of 2023. Once he feels I am healed enough I will have to go through physical therapy to tone/retrain my core muscles. 

My plan is to start taking on limited casting jobs with the understanding that it will probably take a couple weeks to get the kit cast. 

I am, unfortunately, without any income since September.  The only income I have is what I have coming from Patreon (9 very loyal supporters). Even with health insurance, the amount out-of-pocket has been outrageous and has pretty much drained out emergency fund. 

So, I'm trying to get back on my feet.  I have upgraded from being in bed to being in a recliner. Ugh. If there are any kits you want to order feel free to hit the marketplace. If you wan to join my Patreon you can click HERE. 

Thanks for your support and patience.