Styx

It's been over a year since my last journal entry. A journal entry where I made a point of saying that I was going to try to be more involved on the site and with the rest of the community. I haven't done that, which makes me sad. This community is pretty great, and I do miss it dearly. I think I'll leave it at that for now.

That just leaves me to tell you what I've been up to for the past year. I graduated high school and was set to go to uni in the fall. I was certain this was the best thing in the world for me. I had an awesome roommate, campus was cool, people were nice. It was seriously the total package. Still, from day one I had this very distinct feeling that I shouldn't be there. That staying would somehow end up with something very bad happening. It wasn't a specific thing, and at the time but it really bothered me. It didn't make sense. This was what I'd wanted for years, but I couldn't ignore the feeling that something horribly wrong was going to happen.

So I came home. I trusted my instincts and just left. No plan. No job. Nothing. After less than two weeks I just sort of left one day. People's reactions were mixed. Some people in my family were upset, some concerned. Others just disappointed. I think the general consensus was confusion for my friends and family. Hell, even myself. It was weird. I just sat around at home not really doing anything for a week or two, nowhere to go. Weird stuff.

Then one day about a week and a half after returning home (about mid September), I woke up and my arm was swollen and discolored. Like a lot. I just assumed it was nothing, like I'd slept on it or something, so I just ignored it and waited for it to go away. A week later, nothing changed and my parents made me go see a doctor.

At this point, I was still certain it was nothing. I went through like three hours of waiting rooms and test in some little clinic one town over. Then the doctor told me I had a blood clot in my arm, near my shoulder. The doctor said I probably had a week before it would have moved into my lungs without medical attention (guess I was right about the "something bad will happen" thing. Good for me). This was surprising, given that I'm 18 and otherwise completely healthy. To make an already long story short, I spent the next six weeks in the hospital trying to get the clot broken up and then remove my first rib (that bone and my collar bone were compressing on a vein in my arm, apparently it's a condition I've had since birth. weird). Then I had two months of physical therapy, and blood thinners, and living like an old old man because I had the medical problems of an old old man

And now here I am. About three weeks ago I had my last procedure done and was given a clean bill of health after 3 months of total bullshit. I'm starting at a different school (commuting, yay!) and am working on a lot of the same things I was when I started the year out. It was a weird year, but I'm honestly just happy I made it out standing, even if it is a touch behind where I started.

So yeah. That's what I've been up to. Now I can get back to all of you awesome people. I don't know how active I'll be, but certainly more than before. I hope I get the chance to meet you all again before I accidentally almost die again.

Styx

Oh and for the record, any stories you might hear about people having a rib removed to do sex stuff or whatever is a lie. That shit hurts and by no means makes you more flexible.