Jorge Rivera-Herrans Saved My Life (Patreon)

First off, I apologize if I worried anyone with my absence. There is a very good reason for it and a very good reason for this post title.

Because it's exactly what happened. Jorge saved my life.

As some of you may know from my last few livestreams, I had gotten terribly ill. I didn't get tested but I'm pretty sure it was covid, which I got from family members who did not mask up or quarantine but that's neither here nor there.

For nearly two weeks, I battled on and off fevers, coughs, infections and the like, all while working on Dangerous. Jay is aware that I have been sick and has asked me several times to slow down. At some point, I began to feel better, though I did notice I can barely speak without wheezing. At which point, Jay asked me to do another animation for the Vengeance Saga (yes, I'm working on two, not one), which I accepted because by that point, I was feeling better. I offered for him to just pay me partially, but he insisted on paying in full.

And that's how he saved my life.

I don't have medical insurance, private or otherwise. My family and I are only now slowly getting out of debt and I've had to put my health in the backseat for several years. And I would've continued to do so when I noticed something was very wrong. I could only speak two words before I needed to take a breath, and an oximeter showed my oxygen saturation at 94% at the highest, and 89% at the lowest.

Again, I'm the type of person who usually would do everything and anything not to go to doctors because I don't have insurance. This time was different. I had funds from Jay which gave me the leeway I needed to finally see a doctor.

After a quick examination, the doctor, a pulmonologist, said "I don't usually recommend hospitalization, but you need to go to the emergency room right now".

And so I did, with my husband, Pika, assisting me. The moment the nurses saw my oxygen saturation was at 94%, they immediately called for an oxygen tank because apparently, that was already an emergency. Mind you, I've been battling 89-94% oxygen saturation at that point.

The next day, the doctor came in with the x-ray results. It was pneumonia. And a bad one. There was only a small patch of clear area in one lung, while the rest was virtually white, and the doctor emphasized how fortunate it was that I followed her instructions to seek hospitalization immediately.

I stayed in the hospital for 4 days, hooked up to oxygen and IVs and being pumped full of steroids and antibiotics.......all while still working on Dangerous and the other animation.

Did I tell Jay? Yes. I told him via a video recording on my 3rd night of hospitalization (I was feeling much better then and able to work), and to say that he was mortified and scared is an understatement. But I reassured him time and time and again that I was on the mend, that if it hadn't been for him insisting to pay in full, I would never have had the funds to seek the treatment and get the care I needed.

As of writing, I am at home, with family, with my little boy who has been missing his mommy. I'm still taking meds and steroids on the daily, and I am now able to speak full sentences and breathe and sleep an entire night without gasping for air. Jay has repeatedly told me to just focus on recovery and not to worry about the animation, and while I am pacing myself, I also know I have a responsibility to do this, and to not let him down especially since I literally owe him my life. This man is so generous and kind and he deserves all the accolades and all the great things the world has to offer. More than a creator, more than a friend, he is now my hero.

(Animation update: Dangerous is 98% done, and the other animation, which I cannot tell you what it's about, is on track to finish around the 29th. My assistants are helping me take it easy so rest assured, I will be back on my feet, streaming again soon. See you on the Vengeance Saga premiere!)