About two weeks ago I started experiencing fainting spells in relationship, presumably, to Lyme disease and fibromyalgia (Lyme disease attacks the immune system and has left me with fibromyalgia as a co-infection). About five days ago I came in from walking my two dogs (I have taken up a two part workout regimen that involves going to the gym once a day and walking my dogs daily as part of my recovery plan) and got halfway into my house before I literally hit the deck. When I came to I decided I should probably go to the hospital which interred me for three days (thus why FS didn't update this week) and told me that I may have an advanced version of Lyme disease known as Neuro-Lyme, which they told me means that the spirochetes that comprise the disease have made their way into my brain. The symptoms I'm currently dealing with include constant joint pain throughout the body, distorted vision, high levels of fatigue and, new to the crop: severe depression. I'm currently working with my doctors to come up with a new treatment regimen that can address all of this and hopefully keep me on the recovery path.

The really bad news from all of this was I told my doctors about my plans for FWA and they expressly forbid it; saying I'm currently too unstable to be doing anything like that. I'm not sure I necessarily agree but I can tell that, considering the fainting spells, a con could potentially prove disastrous. I'm really really sad about this, it's been an absolutely horrific year thus far (this being my second hospitalization already) and missing a con is only making it worse. I love cons, they're my favorite weekends of the year; I live for them. It's going to really suck not going, I was looking forward to seeing a lot of people and running my table and doing all the fun stuff at cons I always do. Instead I'm confined to my house "just in case" something might happen.

Still, I'm going to try to make the best of it. Missing FWA means I have more time to finish up old commissions without needing to take on new ones. Since I'm still on track for AC this year that means I can possibly have my biggest show to date in July and that makes me happy. I also can hopefully get all of these old commissions done and focus exclusively on False Start stuff, since I really want to make that into the majority of what I do.

In summary: My various ailments continue to find new ways to harangue my mind and body, thus under doctor's orders I'm abstaining from FWA. I will however continue to update False Start and keep commissions pumping out as best I can. The next con I'll be doing is AC, and I'm hoping to make it the best ever. It's been rough thus far but I want to keep it together and keep on trekkin'.

-Bone