Hey there, everyone. Here’s another weekly update, with this one going everywhere instead of staying in my Patreon or Ko-Fi. There is a reason for that. It’s related to my sickness and why I didn’t post an update last week. Some of you already know what I’m talking about. I want to clarify to everyone who only got hints and whatnot.

Back sometime on the night of the 5th of February to the 6th the same night, I felt something like a needle pierce into the left side of my neck. At least, I thought I dreamed of something like that. If I had investigated further, perhaps I wouldn’t have been in the position since then. I was tired, the lights were off, and I didn’t question this ‘dream’ and that I pulled something off after that piercing.

When I woke up on the 6th, I felt miserable. And I do mean it. It felt like I suffered from a flu of some kind. After trying to stay up for half the day, I decided to lay on the couch, where I lay there. There, I drifted from sleep to wakefulness and back again. During the first two times I stood up that evening, I vomited not too long afterward. I drank Gatorade after Gatorade, so I had some fluids, salt, and sugar.

I should’ve thought more about the strange mark on my neck. Instead, I rationalized it, thinking it was nothing more than an odd-looking pimple, like how I rationalized being sick with the flu since my dad had just gone through one himself. Hindsight, as ever, is clearer than foresight. It was not until the 7th of February that I began to question the mark, especially when it took on a blackish shade.

On the 7th, I finally showed that mark to my dad, who was befuddled by it. He researched and even chatted with my aunt (a retired doctor) about it. From there, we discovered the truth of my sickness. Namely, this mark was a sign of a spider bite; specifically, it was done by a brown recluse spider.

I’m sure some of you are typing in the comments, asking if I went to the hospital, telling me to go there ASAP, and more. I understand why. For those who don’t know, a brown recluse spider carries a nasty venom that kills nearby cells. It can even cause necrosis. So, I understand the reason for your concern.

To answer those questions, I didn’t go to the hospital. At least, not yet. The reason is that there is no antivenom prescribed for that specific spider in the United States and, even if we do have one, it had passed the cutoff date. It’s a type of venom that needs antivenom to fight against it within the first several hours. So, because I didn’t check it after I got bitten, I was screwed when I opened up about it up to 30 hours later. At that stage, the only thing doctors could do is offer antibiotics.

Fortunately, my dad kept a fair amount of antibiotics just in case of these events. I’ve also been taking various medications meant to boost my immune system (like elderberry gummies). So far, I’m all right. My neck on that side of the body is no longer burning. There seems to be swelling again, so going to the hospital is not off the table. It had slowed since it began and might even go away independently. I’ll at least apply the antibiotic ointment on it so that it might recover faster. If not, well, we’ll need to shell out a lot of money for it.

Yay.

Otherwise, I’m feeling fine. The most I can complain about right now is that I have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, even with melatonin. It hasn’t been as bad as it was at the beginning, where it seems like a minor miracle that I didn’t end up like a sleep-deprived zombie. I even returned to work for the past couple of days and had little issues. If you still wish to help, well, here’s my Ko-Fi. I’m not begging at the moment, nor do I expect any money. This is if you wish to help in any way you can.

Again, only do it if you wish to help.

While I would usually end it by talking about works I find to be good to great or ones that I find to be overrated, this post is going much longer than it should. All I’ll say is: screw that spider for making me miss Absol Day.

And yes, we confirmed it was from a brown recluse spider. I found its dead body on the 8th.

Anyway, take it easy.