By Kevin Siembieda

We are all back at the office and working hard on a wide variety of projects.

UPDATE: Kevin Siembieda on the mend

I am amazed by the human body as I seem to be healing up lickety split. Every day it seems like I can raise my arm a little higher, a little farther. The pain a little less intense. It is truly amazing to me. I’m still stiff and tight and need physical therapy, but my doctor was very pleased with the mobility I’m already exhibiting. And all my doctors are happy with the healing of my incision as I have heard, “Oh, that’s healing up beautifully,” on several occasions now.

For those of you who have not heard, I was a pedestrian on the sidewalk, when I got hit by a Jeep/SUV style vehicle. The driver was distracted by his children in the back seat and didn’t see me when he backed out of his driveway. Struck me in my left hip and knocked me on my right shoulder, and SNAP, KAPOW, I’m broken. I knew immediately that my right arm was broken clear through, because my arm would not respond, and when I looked down it was waving in the wind like a puppet’s arm on a string. Gross. Frightening. And it hurt like a son of a ... well you get the picture.

I strongly considered having Wayne post the before and after X-rays of my broken humerus bone (the upper arm between the elbow and shoulder), but that one inch space between the broken pieces of my bone and the angle the two pieces are pointing is very disturbing to some people. The same is true of the metal plate and screws. I sure don’t want to gross anyone out. Kathy Simmons, my girlfriend, felt nauseous when she saw it the first time up on the screen at the hospital. It looks like something you would see in a cartoon. I have had fun showing the before and after X-rays around to friends. Even took ‘em to Anime North. Hey, trying to laugh and make the best of a bad situation that could have been much, much worse. Happy to be alive, not crippled and only suffering from a broken bone. Thank you, Guardian Angel. (Btw, it is one metal plate and eight screws. I think I had said two plates and 16 screws in a prior Update. I must have been more out of it than I thought when the doctor first spoke to me about it after surgery.)

The week has been a busy one. Still running back and forth to doctors for follow up visits, more tests, and soon, physical therapy. I cannot drive a car for another couple of weeks or work more than 8 hours a day – Doctor’s orders! And I cannot pick up or push anything weighing more than five pounds (2.25 kg); it was two pounds (0.9 kg) prior to that. That’s a lot trickier than it sounds. A gallon of milk weighs 8.6 pounds. Heck, Rifts® Ultimate Edition weighs almost three pounds! And what’s the weight/psi to push open a car door? Still hurting and my body is ready to go home after 8 hours of work, but I’m feeling better every day.

My thanks to those of you continuing to send get-well cards and kind words. They are very welcomed and often make me laugh. I’m itching to dive back into writing the next several books, and intend to do just that starting Monday! Spent much of this week trying to get caught up with mail, emails, bills and correspondences. Between being literally knocked off my feet and then going to Anime North over the Memorial Day Weekend, I was quite behind. Getting pretty caught up, at least with the most important matters.