Hi there everyone reading this! It's been awhile hasn't it?

I just thought I'd let you know how I've been doing lately. It's been pretty difficult for me.

Last May I found out that I had a tumor growing in my brain. Left side, pressing on the part of the brain that initiates motion. It's the second rare condition I've been diagnosed with, the first is a chronic condition called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. But even with that condition January 2016 was looking up for me. I was getting better. I had built up my stamina and energy enough that I didn't feel tired after my volunteer shifts. I was taking classes at the local community college. I was going to look for a part-time job and save up the money to rent an apartment. That's all been completely derailed now.

Surgery went well, they got most of the tumor out and the little bit that was left didn't show up on my last MRI. I was only in the hospital for two days, which was longer than I preferred at the time. It was probably a mix of the drugs and the exhaustion, but I was really worried about getting some kind of hospital born, drug resistant super-bug. I don't actually remember a lot of my stay in the hospital, but I do remember a few things.

It hurt a lot. It felt like my entire skull had been taken apart and put back together in a rough semblance of a skull. I couldn't watch Ellen, or anything else funny because my scalp was stapled to my skull and laughing would tug at those muscles. I found out that I do not tolerate morphine. I'm pretty sure it just swapped out the pain for nausea and ended up quickly leaning of the side of the bed and puking on the floor, missing the nurse by a couple of inches. I feel asleep in the post-surgery MRI, which I think impressed the techs, or surprised them. They had some kind of reaction because people don't usually fall asleep in the MRI. A couple of my Mom's co-workers brought me stuffed animals. The duck I named Dr. Mallard (aka Ducky, after the NCIS character) and I named the rottweiler Phil Coulson. Not really sure why, maybe I saw an Agents of Shield promo or something.

Oh, and there was also something that I can only describe as "the noise". Do you know what it sounds like to have an air bubble trapped inside your skull? I do and it's super disturbing. It lasted until the air was absorbed into my bloodstream.

I stayed with my grandparents for awhile. I slept a lot during the first two weeks, and would do laps around the house. It was exhausting, but it was said that I was doing really well for someone in my condition.

I'm back with at my parents now, and I've been taking more classes. My stamina has greatly improved from what it was post-surgery, but it's a long way from pre-surgery levels. I finally gave in and let my Mom buy me a walker so I'm able to go on longer walks.

I've been doing a little writing, mostly dialogue, but I've been doing a lot of planning. Story arcs, characters, etc. I know what I want my endgame to be, I'm just figuring out how to get there.

I will not be continuing Bree's story in it's current form.

Consider the current work a rough draft that will be improved. I really had no direction in mind when I was writing it. I was just deciding the plot as I went a long, chapter by chapter, and I felt like I couldn't go back and make changes because it was already out there on the internet.

I'm going to do it better this time, but I don't think I'll have anything ready for awhile because, well, life.

Big thank you to guest Phoenix, Pho. This whole thing might have died a slow death with me constantly telling myself I'd do something eventually and writing maybe a few lines a day. You reminded me why I loved writing in the first place. I liked created something that people enjoyed. Thank You.

Also, to answer one of your questions, the reason Bree says parchment is soaked in poison it because to make parchment from animal skin, you've got to soak it in a solution that includes lime. The dangerous chemical, not the fruit.