Hi!
Hello there!
TLDR, I’m fine.
Mostly.
And the part of me that isn’t fine is, in fact, getting better.
Remember a while back, when I fell and broke my hand?
Well…
A few weeks ago, in Southern California, I tripped again.
Badly, apparently.
I don’t remember falling. I only remember waking up in an ambulance before blacking out again.
…and then waking up once more in the recovery area of Long Beach Memorial Hospital’s Trauma Center, with bunch of EKG monitors wired to me. A couple of leftover patches on my arms marked doohickies had been plugged into my body (plasma on the right anesthetic on the left, I’m guessing), and a bright red band was loudly proclaiming “TRAUMA” on my wrist.
My friend Steve didn’t see me fall, so I’m not sure what had caused it, and as I said, I (thankfully) remember nothing of it. Steve stayed at the hospital, driving me back to his place when I was finally released at 4 am, bruised, bandaged, and none the wiser to what had transpired.
Eight hours later, I boarded the first of two flights that would take me home.
My right arm was in a sling, and I had giant lidocaine patches over my forehead and shoulder.
I also had a concussion.
I didn’t realize this until three days later, when I got in to see my GP.
Never having had a concussion before, I didn’t realize I probably shouldn’t have flown the very next day.
I had fine seats for both flights home – even an upgrade to first class between Phoenix and Madison. I was in pain, yes, but not terribly concerned: I just wanted to get home. (I even had an American Airlines club pass at Pheonix, which helped with a four-hour delay.)
I also texted my sister (the Surgeon) in London, sending her some pics of my messed-up face. She didn’t tell me then, but she couldn’t get back to sleep knowing I was traveling on my own in that condition.
The subsequent weekend was a bit of a blur, literally and figuratively. Monday morning, I decided it would be sensible for me to skip Gen Con. Sadly, this also meant missing all the events celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Munchkin and the release of Munchkin 2nd Edition.
Tuesday, once I was diagnosed as actually HAVING an honest-to-goodness concussion, skipping the show became a no-brainer.
Pun intended.
All this happened on the heels of three incredibly fun yet busy weeks: LibertyCon in Chattanooga; CONvergeance in Minneapolis; and five days taping <redacted> in Hollywood.
I suspect sheer exhaustion may have been a contributing factor to the tumble.
Last week, on Doctor’s orders, I literally did nothing but binge “Taskmaster” and immerse myself in Discworld novels (OK, the doc didn’t specify “Taskmaster” and Discworld, but I’d highly recommend them.)
On an intellectual level, I find having a concussion fascinating. Every day, I believe I feel like myself. Yet the very next day, I invariably feel more like myself, meaning I’ve been terribly incorrect all previous days.
I am feeling less dizzy, less foggy and far less light-headed than I was last week, and I jokingly reply to friends that “Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.” And truly, I am.
I’m in Concussion Physical Therapy, which even my sister the Surgeon did not know was a thing. I’d love to say I aced the cognitive tests my first time there, but really, I did not. And that was sobering.
I’ve had so many medical checkups these last fourteen days, I sort of feel like that cartoon dude on the “Operation” gameboard.
The good news is, I’m in fabulous health were it not for the knock to the noggin (“Apart from that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?”) My bloodwork has come back with straight “A”s, and I’m shocked that I have the liver of a man half my age (I should probably return it to him). My eyesight, now less blurry, is also expected to rebound well. Across the board, there’s no permanent damage expected.
Even my hideous black eye has receded far enough to resemble nothing more than a dashing pseudo-scar:
I’m still concussed. To be sure, I wasn’t certain if the occasional brain-fog I still experience was due to the fall, or just my normal baseline spam-headedness. But following a Concussion Physical Therapy appointment yesterday, I’m…glad?…to say it’s still head-bash-based.
I’m feeling a million times better than I was a month ago, though. So THAT is definitely progress.
I continue experiencing lingering dizziness and minor headaches a few times per day. Mainly, my right shoulder continues to ache, though nothing is broken or torn, and the back of my neck remains stiff. But things feel a little better every day. My therapist has asked I don’t return to taekwondo until October at the earliest.
The goal at the moment is to post two Dork Towers per week at the Mothership from now through the end of September, then reverting to three a week from October onward. (This isn’t including the Maple Monthly comics, which you’ll still get to see months before anyone else.)
I’m hoping to rebuild the old Dork Tower Mothership buffer at that point, and schedule a couple of guest artists for a few weeks backup next year – something VERY SENSIBLE that I just never got around to this year or last.
Right now, other goals include getting the Collector Cards back on track (many are finished or near-finished), and getting Insane Charity Bike Ride 2025 goodies out the door. Particularly as the 2026 ride is coming up!
But I’ll have more on this very soon.
I am enormously grateful to the Dork Tower Patreon supporters, who’ve stuck by me through these last few weeks. If you’d like to help, please do check out the Dork Tower Patreon Page – it’s what keeps the strips going, and I could use all the support I can get right now!
Thanks for sticking with me!
- John
PS: HUGE thanks to my great friend Lar for the above image!
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