Cancer Update: My Life The Past Month (Patreon)

I know some people still want weekly, rather than monthly, updates. I'll see what I can do, but I also don't want to pester folks too often!

Also, Content Warning: Closed surgical incision pictures at the end.

This update comes in multiple waves. Like tsunamis. Medical tsunamis. Look, not all my analogies are going to be winners, folk.

First--my electrolytes continue to be an ongoing struggle, possibly due to damage done by radiation, possibly by the precancerous polyps we KEEP finding, possibly for any one of a couple dozen other reasons. (I vote aliens.) I have to take three times the normal dose of supplements now, and they give me heartburn and nausea, and must be done twice a day every day. I now have pills to help me take those pills. (I expect next time they'll give me an injection to help with the pills I take for the other pills. ... Any maybe a patch, who knows?!) We tried a powder, and it was so ineffective I nearly got sent to the ER. (BAD Powder. Bad! No biscuit.) Random, severe fatigue remains a huge issue. It's hard to know what hour I'll be awake, which makes me a bit of a flake with scheduling. My total number of functional hours a week continues to VERY slowly improve, but I still can't be sure I'll be available for any specific hour.

We'll see if the new pills, with the pills to help me take those pills, does better. I HAVE managed more ttRPG consultation work this month than any time in the past five years, so there are signs of sunlight.

Second--The news bout Catherine O'Hara's cause of death, released today, hit me HARD emotionally. She dies of a pulmonary embolism caused by rectal cancer. In 2023 I was hospitalized with a pulmonary embolism, which we discovered was caused by previously-undiagnosed rectal cancer I'd been suffering for nearly a decade. So... lucky me, I guess.

https://apnews.com/article/catherine-ohara-cause-of-death-17124e0b91c258a88b9acce6c7dd8f54

Third--The deep freeze Oklahoma suffered caused one of my HVACs to die. The one for my beloved game room, which I had ALMOST gotten all set up. The failed HVAC caused a pipe to burst. The burst pipe flooded the game room. The carpet was ruined, and an as-yet unknown number of game books (but at minimum, ALL by 5e D&D books), and damaged floorboards and a dozen wood bookcases. Thanks to deductibles I'm on the hook of 5 grand of mitigation so far, plus the insurance doesn't cover the unknown issue with the HVAC, which is another 15 grand to fix. because of COURSE I was ready for 20k in major unexpected expenses.

Speaking of which:

Fourth--My wife has to have outpatient surgery on the hand and arm. It was locking up, a condition we've been fighting with physical therapy and injections for years. But it started getting much worse, much faster, so we had to schedule surgery. She JUST got the post-surgical gauze removed, so there are pictures below.

So, while still fighting with insurance and restoration companies, I'm also trying to take care of my wife, who is still loopy most of the time, and can't yet use her primary arm for... anything. She can't even hold a paper cup with it right now. (My housemate and I have divided up her share of housework until she's recovered. Fair is fair.)

Also, that surgery had to be paid in advance. It was supposed to be $1400 out of pocket for us, which we did not have, but figured out how to cover. Then, day of surgery, we discovered it was $5400. I cannot let my artist wife lose use of her primary hand, so I maxed out some credit cards, and got her the surgery. (I mean, I wouldn't let her lose her other hand of a foot either. ... Not at today's interest rates.) I have plans about how to try to make that money before too many monthly finance fees hit me, which I am sure you'll hear about in the next couple of weeks.

I took on freelance work without planning for a blizzard, burst pipe, or sudden (outpatient) surgery taking out my wife, so I blew a deadline... hard. I DON'T like doing that, but at least I AM getting projects done, even if the most recent one is two weeks late.

And that's my life in the past month! As always, your support, kind words, prayers, and good vibes continue to let me survive. Without all of you, I wouldn't still be here. My DEEPEST thanks.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-owen-kc-stephens-fight-cancer

(Lj is being SO brave about her arm. It hurts, it doesn't work yet... I'd be a giant baby about this if it was me.)