UPDATE: Moving Forward but Still Getting Left Behind – May 8, 2023
(As posted on our Patreon Page)
Hello everyone, as promised, I want to take a little bit of your time to let you know what happened last week and what the doctor had to say…
The week had started like any other lately when I have doctor’s appointments… try to cram as much work in as possible.
For those that follow me on Facebook and our NASCAR racing page, you’ll know by now that when Tuesday rolled around and while pulling into the parking lot of the doctor’s office, I got the dreaded, but somewhat expected, phone call from Mike that our Crew Chief, Dave, succumbed to his battle against cancer and passed away.
Being that I was 40 minutes early for my appointment, I sat for a few minutes in the parking lot talking to Mike, hung up with him and talked with the wife who had come with me before going in, 10 minutes before my scheduled appointment, checked in and sat and waited to be called...
45 minutes after my actual appointment time and still sitting (thinking about and remembering Dave, thinking about having yet another funeral to attend) in the lobby waiting to be called, I told the wife that I was
DONE... any patience I had for humans and doctors at that point was gone. But the wife told me to wait while she went up to the counter and asked what the holdup was (the doctor got behind... well, obviously... in his appointments) ... 5 minutes later and nearly an hour after my scheduled appointment I was finally called into the back.
After waiting another 25 minutes, the doctor eventually came in, looked at my MRI and documents, did some tests, scratched his head and said he was at kind of a loss.
Yes, I have some obvious damage to the shoulder, but not damage that he is used to seeing that would be restricting the shoulder's range of motion to the extent that I clearly have... and he really tried to move the shoulder and it was locked in a couple of positions that even I hadn't tried before.
He was understandably frustrated (as I’ve been), as it is clear that there is some damage (but not what he thinks is worth replacing it for), that there is definite spurring, bursitis, arthritis and the socket is definitely larger and causing the shoulder to sit deeper than it should, but the positioning and location of my pain and the failed range of motion in it is telling him that the pain and stuff may not be coming from the shoulder itself... but actually from the scapular nerve that runs from my neck, under the Supraspinatus tendon and clavicle.
So, he gave me a cortisone shot, recommended 6 more weeks of physical torture and to
DEFINITELY make an appointment with my neck and spinal surgeon, Dr. Fischgrund, as he believes the true source of the pain that I am experiencing and that is likely coming from having damaged my neck in the fall.
Also, he said that at some point, he is going to want to go in arthroscopically to clean up the spurring that I have that is deeper into the shoulder (where I am not really experiencing a ton of pain) and get that cleaned up to keep from tearing at the muscle and tendons there.
So, in short, I've been spending the last 7 months being checked for shoulder problems when it really looks like the trouble is at my C5 vertebra which is just
BELOW the replaced vertebra in my neck.
I am currently waiting for a call back from my neck/spine surgeon’s personal secretary to find out when my appointment is with him, which… hopefully… will be today that I get the call.
Wednesday was spent doing little things on the game, as my arm was quite sore after the shot and being manipulated
A LOT by the shoulder specialist… and, admittedly, I was a bit doped up.
Thursday was spent driving an hour out to Great Lakes National Cemetery for my uncle’s funeral service, quietly visiting and talking with my aunt and family, before driving back home, stopping to get some dinner with the wife and mother and then trying to unwind the rest of the day/evening.
Friday, I spent some time with the crew working on the game, making sure with
Epadder that the galleries, replay and interface was looking right and worked the way we had discussed, while also doing some miscellaneous stuff before having to go out to the riding mower and do the first cut of my lawn… came in, popped a pain pill and waited for the day to end.
Saturday, knowing that I still had some yardwork to do in the backyard, was spent working on some Game Chapter Outlining, making sure the Chapters are balanced, that you… the players… get plenty of choices, outcomes and sexy time and then went in the backyard and started cutting up the lumber from the grape arbor that I had to take apart after it blew over during the wind storm that took down the tree limb last May, before the city fined me… then took a pain pill and waited for the day to end.
Sunday, worked a bit more with
Epadder and
Sierra3 going over some interface work, while also continuing to work (under the influence of painkiller) on
Chapter Three’s outline and preparing the characters and locations for that release, which will include something along the lines of the above render that started this super long post… where, under the couples therapist’s suggestion, Carley step a little out of her comfort zone and update her wardrobe to show off her wonderful body and assets a little more.
Which you can see her doing, much to the pleasure of Brent who is recording the moment. *wink*
So, that was my week in a nutshell, I am still waiting to hear from Mike or Dave’s wife to find out when and where his services will be held and, as a sidenote, like to be perfectly clear that this “last man standing” game that I seem to be having with everyone I am friends with and care about dying on me
REALLY FRACKING SUCKS!!
I, hereby,
DECLARE: NO-ONE, and I hope you all are
HEARING/READING THIS IS, is
NO LONGER ALLOWED TO DIE BEFORE ME!! Quit freaking leaving me
BEHIND!!
UNDERSTOOD?!?!
Good.
One last thing, before I let you go…
NEVER be afraid to say what you want and/or need to say to the people you want… I am finding, with people who’ve been leaving my life, that there is no
WRONG TIME to tell someone how much they mean to you and how much you care about them!
Well, now that that is out of the way, I am going to get back to work here, I am really behind now because of my screwed up life and last week and I just want to get this damn Prologue out to all of you… so, please, have a good week, take care and, as always, thank you for your love, support and the well wishes you’ve been sending!
Love you all,
~Jack