Well, I'd hoped that the next journal on this would contain better news, but it hasn't worked out that way, so here goes.

My condition hasn't improved much, the doctors are still trying to puzzle it out, but at least now they've authorized me to take medicine to control the pain, nausea and acid reflux that it causes. The side effects aren't very nice, but they make it bearable, at least to an extent. They're now looking into the endocrine system, specifically the pancreas and other glandular areas of my body. If that's a bust, the next step is a colonoscopy, and dear god am I hoping it doesn't come to that. I attempted to get counseling to ease the mental strain of enduring this condition, but the only one we could afford was a stuck-up guy who tried to shove his beliefs down my throat, and I'm not going back.

They say time heals all wounds, but the one that the passing of our dog left was particularly raw for a very long time. However, a couple of weeks ago we decided it was time and adopted a puppy. Ruger, which my brother's girlfriend named (ugh...) is a German Shepherd/Siberian Husky mix. At around nine weeks old, he's energetic, happy and very, very smart; he was housebroken within the first five days we had him. To say that he's growing like a weed would be an understatement. He's growing like a bamboo shoot, we can literally see him grow every single day. He is going to be *massive*.

So there's not much else I can say, as the situation is otherwise pretty much the same as it was before. I'd like to thank everyone who is supporting me through this bad situation in my life. There aren't words to express how much it means to me. In particular,  seldenls  timid-wolf  cyruswolfie  traskfox  tvorsk and  inshera You are like family to me, and I'm truly blessed to know you.

I love you all, and I hope that you're all doing well!