Hi everyone. I’ve been a bit quiet lately and I just wanted to give you a quick update on what’s happening around these parts.
At the start of March my wife had a serious health turn and the doctors suspected she suffered a stroke. Face drooped, limbs heavy, couldn’t speak, the whole nine yards. This was, not surprisingly, a shock since we are both still pretty young (under 40 is young, right?). My wife is healthier now, with no lasting physical side effects of the “turn”, but as you might imagine it threw our life into chaos for quite a period of time. Things are only now settling down. The doctors cannot rule out a minor stroke but are currently calling it a “stress induced event”. We are making adjustments to the way we live so that we reduce the amount of pressure on ourselves. I haven’t talked much about my personal life on this blog before, but the elevator summary is: we both work, have a big mortgage, three kids two of whom have special needs and consequently have weekly medical / specialist appointments and the like. We are, like many of you, busy people. We are trying to reduce the pressures of our daily lives. I blogged about the shock of my wife’s illness and what we are doing to change our lives at a new blog, here.
I want to assure you all that I am still working on a new edition of FU, but progress has slowed. I am still getting many comments and emails and facebook messages from people telling me how excited they are and offering assistance. I really appreciate it, and it is this enthusiasm and support that is driving me to continue working on it. I have registered a domain name for FU and will launch it with an option to sign-up for updates in the near future (when I have some more content to share). The goal is to help build an audience and create a contact list of fans so that I can build excitement and enthusiasm for FU as I create it.
I am also thinking about National Game Design Month – specifically how to make it more useful to people. It is an entertaining diversion for one month a year, but I think it could be more useful to gamers. I am thinking of interviewing game designers and manufacturers, small press creators and that kind of thing. These would be blog interviews, though if I had time I would love to do a new podcast, or even a Youtube channel. I would love to hear other suggestions for how to make NaGa DeMon better.
I will continue to post to this blog as I have things to share. I really appreciate everyone’s support and, in the case of FU, patience.
Thanks,
Nathan
Nathan, sorry to hear about the health issues…glad your wife is better. “Real life” takes precedence. Always happy to see new FU stuff, but totally understand that it comes after the important things. Good luck with everything…I’ll pop over to your other blog to check it out.
Thanks Dave.
Hi There Mr. Russell,
The devil enters our lives in many ways. Everyone thinks God causes our problems to punish us but it is the devil and his minions.
My mom just got cancer and a tumor early winter last year and my sister has a brain tumor. It hit us hard. We have yet to recover. It is just unbelievable. I really understand what you are going through.
I hope you and your family recover and the future turns brighter for you all.
“Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.” (James 5:14)
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)
I really love your FU and like to see a new edition but Pish-Posh about FU. That is a hobby. You, your wife and your children are what is most important. FU will come about when it is time. Please, do not worry about it or us until you are ready. We will be here waiting.
Thank you. It has been a hard road, but I was reminded recently that we do not discover how tough we are until we actually deal with something tough. This has been a life changing and life affirming experience for our family.
I wish your wife and your whole family all the best!
Thanks, HomiSite. Your thoughts are appreciated.
Nathan, I have been where you are. The eventual outcome for Her was not so benign. Please, please, abide by what you say that you’re making changes “to reduce the amount of pressure.” Your kids have to be a priority of course (ours are grown, they watch over me now), but otherwise nothing but nothing matters so much as making Mrs. Russell’s life easier, more pleasant, more stress-free, healthier. While doctors don’t seem able to actually fix much once it happens, their standard-issue “eat a healthy diet, don’t smoke, get exercise” should be honored in the observance not the breach.
Thank you so much for your supportive words. We have made some significant changes and my wife’s health is very much improved. We still have a long way to go before we are living the way we want to, but things are far more positive now.