Hello people, long time no see read or whatever you want to call it that we do here.

Figured that I'd give a brief life update as to what's been going on for the passed year or so. I did end up losing my job at Garda World after they closed the branch that I worked at with no possibility of being transferred elsewhere due to my part time status. The spinal injury that I incurred at work due to an attack has become a permanent injury that unfortunately won't ever fully heal and may require surgery in the coming years -but- I'm a tough cookie, so I'm not going to touch that option unless its -absolutely- needed. After that, I did end up getting the opportunity to be funded to go for retraining of sorts. Over the course of August to around January, I took a training course and ended up earning my ACZ license, which basically means now I can drive transport trucks, B-trains, motor coach buses, and basically anything with wheels and a steering console, I can drive it. During this time as well, I was enrolled in a bariatric weight loss program that dropped 75lbs from my frame, helping out my back injury and overall health and outlook rather positively to boot!

Wound up getting a job at a place called Dufferin Concrete in mid January but didn't get -fully- hired until around the end of February. Driving cement trucks, I couldn't ask for a better paying job for an 'entry level' position really. So I was super stoked about it. Things were going well until mother nature decided to strike me down. Cleaning up the cab of my truck so I could see outside of the windows, as in those large vehicles, your mirrors are your life, if you can't see them? You're literally driving blind and will probably kill someone. Ended up on the passenger side step of the truck, hanging onto the grab bar, cleaning the exterior window of the truck when I guess there was some ice or major condensation on the step and Voom! Off I went and fell 7 feet to the concrete pad under the truck, smashing my elbow really well in the process.

So, turns out now I've got nerve damage in my right arm, the ulnar nerve has been healing since April 26th, the date of the accident, can't straighten or really grip with my pinky and ring fingers and cannot straighten my right arm fully -yet-. It is getting there though.

So I've been off doing modified work and still trying to earn my keep here and there, but then? Disaster strikes again! I was driving to work the morning of June 28th 2017 and I felt just...terrible. Like someone trying to gut me with a pickaxe-terrible. So I called off work and immediately go to the nearest ER to get checked out. Turns out? I've got severe pancreatitis and if I wasn't treated, could probably result in permanent damage! How did this happen? Apparently I also was -loaded- with gal stones. Yep...the diet that dropped me all that weight...caused gal stones >_< And one of the little buggers apparently had slipped his moorings and ended up blocking the bile duct between the pancreas, liver and gal bladder causing a major backup into the pancreas. Spent the next several days in hospital waiting for it to pass and hopefully not die.

Come July the second, I was heading home again, after being accused of being a raging alcoholic by the local surgeon who refused to change her Canada Day plans to get the little fucker out of me ASAP (gal bladder = little fucker) SO! I got sent home and said "Just reduce your fat intake and no pork." So I was all "...ok." And did just that. I told my family doctor that I'm not to see that surgeon ever again but I do need my gal bladder out, so please get me in with someone else.

Three weeks and about five gal bladder 'attacks' later, and I call the doctors office and they tell me that the surgeon that I was supposed to see...has been on Vacation since July 1st and won't be back until August 17-20th or so. I was like "....what...Then send me to someone else!" So they got right to it. Beginning of August comes around and I've had to take more time off of work because I kept waking up or just not sleeping due to -massive- abdominal pain, like...I would maybe wish this kind of pain on Kim Jong Un or the members of ISIS but apart from that, my worst personal enemy I'd never wish this on. Laying in bed crying most mornings in a fetal position is definitely not my idea of 'awesome'.

So...I get a call saying "We've got a cancellation with -this- doctor." I said "Don't care where it is, get me in." So...next day? I'm in to see this awesome surgeon, Dr. Prodger out of Burlington. He just takes one look at me and says "Jeeze...you okay?" I guess I looked really pale. So he said "Alright, I'm putting you through for immediate CT Scans, Ultrasounds, and radium injections for dye material for both." So I was all "Oh, okay." At this point I didn't care. He then said the magic sentence: "We'll get that gal bladder out of you within two weeks."

Now here I am two weeks later, I've got four extra bellybuttons right now and I'm laying in bed in a lot of pain, but...as odd as this sounds, I feel a lot better. Like...I don't feel sick anymore. August 29th I had surgery laproscopically in the brand new Joeseph Brant Hospital in Burlington, was treated amazingly by the staff and nurses there and came out of it with a few new scars and one less diseased gal bladder. I'll heal up over the next week or so, so that's a good thing at least. Just gotta keep to my meds and keep moving a bit, let the wounds heal up and hopefully be back to work come Monday or Tuesday next week.

So yep, that's a bit of an update for all 2 or 3 of you that watch my journals anymore. So hurray for me!

Oh, and another neat thing I got to do, I got to test ride a Yamaha V-star 1300 and I think I fell in love! Lol...who knows? Might come home with one of those beasties in the forseeable future. :3 Here's hoping!