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A SELECTION OF ARTISTS ORIGINATING BEFORE THE 80'S
A SELECTION OF ARTISTS ORIGINATING BEFORE THE 80'S
A SELECTION OF ARTISTS ORIGINATING BEFORE THE 80'S
A SELECTION OF ARTISTS ORIGINATING BEFORE THE 80'S
A SELECTION OF ARTISTS ORIGINATING BEFORE THE 80'S
A SELECTION OF ARTISTS ORIGINATING BEFORE THE 80'S
MY HEALTH part 5
Written on May 18, 2025
A lot has happened since my last update here. I have been updating everyone more through my art posts on instagram and facebook. My specific illness is still unknown. Over the past few months I have been able to do a couple of art festivals with help from friends. The random pains were showing some signs of improvement, but the repeatable pains were on the rise. A consistent daily pattern for a while there was for me to be mostly ok during the first half of each day, while getting some work done, and then I'd become crippled around 4pm and for the remainder of the day. The "crippling" refers to my legs mainly. The tendons in the back of my knees and muscles in the back of my hamstrings, calves and butt would hurt so bad I'd have to spend the evening in bed from that point on. And even then, what ever parts of me that were touching the bed, would still be hurting pretty bad. Then after a few hours of bed rest, I would attempt a shower, hoping that I'd be able to stay standing through it. Sometimes being able to and sometimes not. A few weeks ago I had a brain and full spine MRI done. The only thing that looked abnormal was at the lowest vertebrae at the base of my spine showed narrowed pathways for the nerve roots to exit the spine through. on May 7 my neurologist did an epidural injection in the base of my spine to try and help the situation. That evening the random, full body pains returned and shot up to an extreme level. It was out of control, very painful, scary and frustrating. For the next week the leg pains and the random body pains were pretty bad. Then suddenly I had a few nights in a row where it was all improving. This evening the random pains are still doing their thing but I'm fighting through it. And I'm very grateful that the crippling legs pains are still there but continues to be way down. While writing this I've had some burning, stabbing pains come and go. In places like, my lower abdomen, lower left ribs, backs of both elbows, the outer cartilage of my right ear, my head above my ear, right eye socket bone and more. These pains still do what they have been doing; they come on pretty quick, burn and stab for a minute or ten and then they go away to let new ones start up. This sucks and is very frustrating but I've been able to work through it. I also have not had any let up in the ear ringing since it started 5 months ago. As for what's next... we shall see the doctor said to give the epidural more time to do it's thing. So fingers are crossed on that. Ok the pains are picking up quite a bit now so I'm going to end it here. Thanks for reading.
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Written on May 19, 2025
Well, it appears that I may have spoken too soon. I needed to get a lot of work done today, and I did, but I am paying greatly for it. I can't type too much at the moment because the fireworks have returned to my muscles, nerves, and whatever else. It's random stuff, but still related to activities from earlier. It's really bad right now but I need to share.​
Newest drawing: "The Lonliest Monk"
Written on May 21, 2025
Ok last night was absolutely insane with the random stuff coming on to an extreme. There were moment were if I was standing or walking that I would get pains in my legs and butt that would fade in so strong and so quick that I just had a few seconds to get to a bed to immediately lay down. And then it would take the pains (that were only there for 10-15 seconds total before laying down) about 20 minutes to subside. At one point I was in bed dealing with the pains for over an hour as it came and went all throughout my body in different random places. Flipping and turning in bed until the pains finally eased up enough for me to take a shower.
Tonight has only been about half that bad. But my fingers, from typing this, feel like rain is falling on them and it's starting in my face too now, so I will leave it there for now.
Written on July 8, 2025
I've had some improvements in the early evening hours after increasing to the max daily dose of pregabalin. But later evening hours each day are still torturous. But I'm fortunately able to get work done during the day but it comes back to haunt me each night. Next tests are for small fiber neuropathy and POTS syndrome. Later this week I'll be heading to Michigan for two shows. Crossing fingers and dotting my eyes, lol, that I'm able to pull it off. I'm a little concerned but hopeful. The photos here are from my new Bodhi Tree frame for my Buddha board. I spent most of the last two weeks working on this one.
Written on July 25, 2025
First off I wanted to say that my first time selling at the Krasl Art Fair a few weeks ago was a great success. It was a great experience all around. I've been on the max daily dose of pregabalin for about 6 weeks now. Lately things have been manageable and I’m able to work and get things done. I get random bizarre stabs on and off in weird places while I’m working but it’s tolerable. Later in the evenings as I lay in bed I pay for all of that hard work and it comes back again to haunt me in crazy weird ways. I eventually fall asleep, and do it all again the next day. So that’s not that bad. it's not a permanent solution because of all the meds I'm taking and I'm currently working on dietary solutions to the issue. Now, going back a couple weeks to Monday, July 14 I started getting a pain in my head while I was making skateboards for Ann Arbor and it was a pain that I had felt previously and was told by my physical therapist back in December that it wasn’t a big deal, so I dismissed it. A couple of days went on and it started to get a little bit worse and then I set up for the Ann Arbor art fest and the pain in my head was getting even more painful, but I was able to "keep going through show". I got help from a friend to load up my van and wrap things up. I started driving home Sunday morning. It was a 14 hour day on the road with a lot of pain in the right side of my head getting stronger by the hour. It was becoming so bad by the time I got back home that I went straight to the hospital and was diagnosed with shingles, …on my head! I got medicine for that and I’ve been taking it this week, and the little wounds on my head are starting to get better. Unfortunately, I’m getting crazy insane pains going in and out of my head compiling up to be the worst thing I’ve ever gone through. It’s so bad it feels like someone’s holding ice to my skin on my scalp and in other places stabbing frozen ice pics through my skull and into my brain. It hurts so freaking bad. This feels exactly like the pains I was having in my head that my physical therapist dismissed, but 10 times stronger. Whatever is causing the these sharp head pains, (that are all mingled in with the healing "shingles") it seems like the same cause for what was happening in my head in December. Regardless, this is crippling. There’s no way I could draw, stick skateboards, or handle any mixed media builds in this state. I hope this gets better. I’m about halfway through the shingles meds and it feels like it is doing the job for the “shingles” on my scalp, but I don’t know if it’s gonna having any effect on these pains I’ve got icing and stabbing their way through my skull, but we’ll see.​ Thanks to everyone sending vibes and prayers.
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What's next?
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I'll be working on art for the Third Ward Art Fest in Milwaukee in a few weeks. I'm hoping I'm able to at least. Fingers crossed. Look for new posts. I have ideas... :)
Written on Aug 19, 2025
I’m still on my mystery medical roller coaster here. Things have been improving, but then I get some setbacks. It seems like overall, it's moving in the right direction, but some days, out of nowhere, it just catches me off guard and starts kicking my butt again. I'm also still dealing with the shingles in my head, which seems like it’s about 90% done doing whatever it is it's doing. I’m on the 6th week of that now. I’m not getting the insane shooting and drilling pains in my head that I was getting when it was at its worst a few weeks ago. Lying down still hurts, but it’s manageable in the right position. I still can’t touch my head without it hurting pretty bad. I have a theory that all of this craziness inside me, with my muscles and nerves going berserk, was shingles slowly waking up and causing havoc in my body, and maybe finding a way out the top of my head. Who knows, but I’ve got interesting occurrences that support that notion.
Anyway, I am working on new art. I have a plan for a new Grateful Dead board, and I’m currently drawing Pigpen for that now. (My mom is gonna ask me to make her a custom board with the Peanuts characters after reading this, I’m sure, lol :) ...I’m also working on a mixed media framed up piece now that will be my “masterpiece” lol. It’s been a beast. And a journey. Lessons learned. Lots of real blood sweat and tears. I’ve rebuilt/reworked 3 different sections of it. One part of it is a 40 hour original pen/pencil drawing directly onto wood that will be an inner border on the finished piece. I’ll hopefully post finished photos of it on Facebook and Instagram this week. It’s got a Samurai feel to it.
Lastly, my next event will be the Third Ward Art Fest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, not this weekend, but next. It’ll be my first time showing there. I’m excited and will hopefully have these new, more involved, mix media wood built pieces on display. Thanks for reading this and being awesome.