I agree it's a pity we have had these medical interruptions, especially since we are on the verge of what may prove a major encounter. I have also heard that gall bladders can be very painful, so I trust this operation will solve the problem.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:31, Wed 08 Feb 2017.

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.

For those who may not have heard, eight days ago on Sunday night just after dinner, I suddenly developed a severe stomach pain--level 7. While I struggled with it for half an hour, figured it was probably food poisoning. It wasn't like any other stomach pain I'd ever experienced before. Then I wound up throwing up 4-5 times, though afterwards the pain level was only 5. An hour later, I threw up 2-3 more times and the pain level dropped to 3. And there it stayed. No more throwing up, and it didn't go away. I couldn't find any position where the pain was lesser, and it was too high to let me sleep. Finally called the EMTs about 1 a.m. and off to the ER I went.

A dose of femital (or something) dropped the pain to 1, and eventually it went completely away. However, the hospital continued to run its test to try and determine the cause. I'm not convinced that they ever did. One doctor concurred that it might have been food poisoning, but the other doctor concluded that it was a problem with my gallbladder and recommended I have it removed. He scheduled laposcopy surgery for Wednesday. If it went well, I'd be hope by Friday. Turned out it was in bad shape and required full abdominal surgery to remove it.

Let me tell you... in all those movies/shows when they talk about a painful wound to you abdomen, they aren't kidding! Every muscle in your chest and abdomen, and a few in your arms and legs, are all tied in together. So every deep breath, every burp, every hiccup, every yawn, every laugh, every cough causes excruciating pain! This is on top of the pain meds!

Every movement... sitting up, standing up, sitting down, laying down, stretching, reaching, bending... causes pain. One such movement at a time is usually okay, but then requires an hour of sitting still and getting over it.

Alas, the hospital's discharge procedure was rather inept on Sunday, and I wound up having to make a dozen such movements so that I could get my meds from the pharmacy before it closed. So after I got home and settled in, it took around 8 hours for the pain to subside.

It's slowly getting better, but will probably take 5-6 weeks for the surgery to completely heal and the pain to completely go away.

But, I'm back! Not sure how much I'll get to in the next two days... have to reorganize the house a bit as I'm mostly fending for myself.

Anyway, I apologize for the absence and lack of word.

In reply to GM StarMaster (msg # 269):

Very, very sorry you have had such a miserable time. I do hope your recovery goes well. I will look forward to continuing the game whenever you feel able to post.

That really sucks!! I'm so sorry! Aren't you glad it was one of those expendable organs though? Still, in my opinion bodies are rather stupid things. Some of the dumb stuff they do is maddening! I just read about a guy who had an ingrown hair on his stomach turn into a 130 pound tumor that he was plagued with for 15 years! That's like having a friggin person inside you to drag around! What the crap!? And then organs just randomly blowing out like that, pssssh! No thank you! I myself am prone to kidney stones, so I know what pain is like for sure but anytime you have to have surgery... major suckage. Especially such dramatic surgery as abdominal like that!

I'm sorry you're on your own for this. Take it easy and rest up!

On March 18 I will be going to London for two weeks of intensive research in the British National Archives. From past experience at my B&B, I should be able to access RPOL from there, but my opportunities will be limited, so I maybe posting irregularly. I return April 2.

Alas, things have been discombobulated. Still recovering, mostly just lack of energy. Had a cold for the past two weeks on top of that. Computer got a virus last week.

We had to send mom to long-term care. They finally had to send her to the hospital. She's now been tentatively diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. Treatment is normally fairly successful, but at mom's age and current health condition, the prognosis isn't good.

Anyway, chores, errands, stress, and even posting tires me out quickly, so it's hard to get caught up on all my games. I think I've finally got it under control again. Knock on wood.

Take care of you and yours. We'll be here!

Deep sympathy for all the troubles you have been going through. I hope your life improves to the point that you can enjoy gaming again.

Cpnnor's remark reminded me of Kipling's poem about the Irish Guards. "Where there is Ireland there's loving and fighting, when there's no more of either 'tis Ireland no more."

I am now back home in the US, so I should be able to post more regularly.

Sorry about my own lack of posting. I've been covering for my old work a lot these days. I'm done for the time being though!

And sorry to hear about your mom. I lost my uncle to cancer a few months ago and it still sucks. My sympathies :(

In reply to Marian Holroy (msg # 278):

I am glad you will be able to post more.

I sympathize with your loss of your uncle.

Thanks so much! I appreciate it :)

I will be away May 10 through 14 at the International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo. I should have computer access but I may not have time or energy to post.

I am back; as I feared, I was not up to posting while at the medieval congress, but I hope to be active now.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:24, Tue 16 May 2017.

In reply to Grimsby Baskerville (msg # 282):

Looking ahead, I will have cataract operations on both eyes, the left eye June 7 and the right eye June 21. I understand that it may be some days after each operation before I will be able to use the computer, though I am not sure jut how long.
In between, I plan to be traveling June 16-18, so I may also be inactive at that time, though I will be staying in a modern hotel which probably has Internet connections.

Hope the surgeries go well and bon voyage, otherwise!

In reply to Bellgrove G. B. Wander (msg # 284):

Thank you very much.

Well, I had my operation yesterday and it went very well. My sight in my left eye is now at 25/20 and I am told it may improve further as it finishes healing. So I am back on RPOL sooner than I expected.

A bit late for the best wishes, but I'm sure we weren't going to tell you anything more positive than the doctors would have.

Glad to hear the first one is so much better, Mr. Jones.

Sounds like things should go just as smoothly for the second eye... so you won't have to wear an eyepatch and talk like a pirate!

In reply to GM StarMaster (msg # 287):
I am a Mr. Jones in another game. Or is this a cultural reference I am missing? Regardless, thank you for your kind words.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:21, Sun 11 June 2017.

Exactly. I'm playing Hurian Voltine in that other game.

In reply to GM StarMaster (msg # 289):

AAAAHH! I got sushi on my laptop! I thought I was better with chopsticks than I really am! WAAAAAAAH!!

What? A fella can't eat? Hmm, evidence now suggests maybe not. You know how hard it's gonna be to get soy sauce outta my keyboard?  ^_^

Oh no! That's terrible! How could wonderful wonderful sushi betray you like that!?
Sushi is probably my favorite food, nice to see another fan.

My favorite restaurant is a sushi place the next town over. They are supposedly the world's first sustainable sushi restaurant so that's pretty cool.

That totally sucks about your keyboard. If it's sticky that would drive me nuts.

In reply to Marian Holroy (msg # 291):

My wife and I are very fond of kimbap, which is basically Korean sushi. Although we are both Americans, we met in Korea and most of our early dates involved Korean food.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:52, Tue 20 June 2017.