Jane:
> > John
> >
> > (Who, is back, sorta, with new blood, sorta, bouncing (gently).
>
>Now that, seriously, is good news. The silence was getting quite depressing.
Thanks Jane, and sorry for the silence. I've been pretty quiet these last few months, and am behind on projects, e-mails and life in general. News has been filtering out indirectly, and the 'new blood' reference is to be taken (semi) seriously, so a full explanation follows, with something similar about to go out to the current YBOT authors and artists, who must be wondering if I've fled the country. For those who wish to know more, or who are simply wondering why that %$&# bastard Hughes has been so slack with email, contributions, deadlines, pointed barbs about ninja keets etc., please read on. If not, skip to the next post, which is probably about vomiting bisexual ducks.
Most of you know that I've been managing exhaustion and biological depression for much of my adult life, balancing this with my duties as a carer. I'd put it down to one of life's little quirks, and managed to get on with things pretty well, accepting the situation as a disability to be managed, being reasonably productive, and becoming involved in disability advocacy to the extent I've been on two calendars in so many years (Thankfully for all concerned, not starkers).
Earlier this year, I recognised the signs of another round of the tide going out/ the fog coming down/black dog howling at the door, and battened down the hatches to ride it out until things returned to something approaching normal - which can be anything from two weeks to two years.
Imagine my immense surprise when some further tests with my GP identified a probable physical cause. Thanks to some mutating Celtic ancestor some sixty or seventy generations back, my body doesn't stop absorbing iron - haemochromotosis its called. My blood iron levels were something like nine times normal and my internal organs were beginning to plate up with extra iron. Yummee.
My inner duck has a mostali complex. :(
Among the symptoms of too much iron - exhaustion, depression... and PARANOIA. WHAT?!? I know what you're thinking! Bastards!
Luckily, the treatment is fairly straight forward, and somewhat Gloranthan - regular bloodletting. So I've been undertaking fortnightly 'Keef Richards', and this will continue till my iron levels are back to normal and my organs begin desponging their accumulated iron.
This is **great** news. While I've been exhausted these last months, my concentration and general mood have been steadily improving, and Pippin says I'm more like me than I have been for years. (Which is pretty spooky in itself). I'm still arriving at the end of a work day pretty flattened (this is the longest email I've managed in quite a while), but things are much much better.
My first priority is to finish up the latest YBOT as quickly as possible, and I apologise to contributors and those patiently awaiting its delivery. I hope to regain my community involvement and continue with further projects as the situation allows.
But if you haven't heard form me in the last few months, please don't take it personally. Unless you deserve to :)
I now return you to your usual bickering...
Cheers
Iron John
Coming Soon: Glad to To Be Grey - or living with a dreadful hue, and resisting the urge to dive into the dye closet.
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