So those of you who know me (or follow my Twitter) probably have seen bits and pieces of the issues I've been dealing with over the summer, all of which have been a huge drain on finances and a big source of stress, and while I try to keep everyone in the loop, it's hard to keep up with. Especially between all this other stuff. So while there's been lots of shit going on, I'm gonna cut right to the important thing and just give you guys a very general idea of what the deal is.

So at the heart of it, I have a lot of problems with my GI tract, notably I tend to get ulcers in my stomach. I get them pretty frequently and when there's one, more tend to pop up faster. So far the only trace of a cause any doctor has come up with is "CLOSELY LINKED TO STRESS." Thank you, modern medicine.
The first time I knew I had an ulcer for sure was over three years ago. By the end of that year, I was having five of the fuckers surgically removed. Following discovering that they developed rather quickly, doubly so when there was already one, they had me taking a medication whenever I developed new one that would wipe it out. Over the last couple years, it worked really well about three or four times, then ceased treating them around the start of this year. Unfortunately, this means I have to have surgery. Furthermore, since the medication doesn't seem to work anymore, surgery is pretty much the only treatment option. It's a very very expensive option for the uninsured, like yours truly.
There was a clinical trial for a preventative drug that my doctor was looking into, but it came with high risk, and I guess early results weren't promising. Now I can't say for sure what things will be like in a few years. Under all this health care reform I may have insurance next year. Maybe the drugs will be better. I dunno.
Here's what I do know though: as things are right now, I'm effectively going to be having surgery so frequently that I don't think I'll have finished paying off the first before I need another one, and that's... I'll be honest here, a pretty grim prospect. I'm trying to keep my head out of unknowns though, at least for now.

So stick with me here, I'll do my best to keep y'all in the loop but it's hard to keep up with making sure everyone's up-to-date. I don't like doing these, I find them impersonal, but I may need to in the future just to make sure everything's out there.

OH, AND ONE LAST IMPORTANT THING: I go in to prep for my surgery 23rd September. I'll probably be in for roughly a week.