Progress report #19

Hello there,

First off, I’m not looking for excuses. I’m so late on the next chapter that even I’m mad at myself! But I still wanted to give you a quick update on what’s been going on lately. And, who knows, if this can also serve as a bit of a cautionary message, even better.

I just got back from the hospital. Yep: I spent five days there, stuck in a room with an IV in my arm 24/7, and I could barely walk. What happened? I’ve got a new chronic illness to add to my "collection": chondrocalcinosis. Basically, something in my body is malfunctioning and creating calcium deposits in my joints (and yes, if that rings a bell, gout does something similar, but with uric acid crystals). When those deposits break apart, they release calcium crystals into the joint, and the joint responds with a violent inflammatory reaction as it tries to dissolve and flush them out (and in the process it can also attack the cartilage, then even the bone…).

That’s exactly what happened to me: my knee swelled up so much it was as wide as my thigh, turned burning hot, gave me a 39.5°C fever, and finally sent me to the ER. They drained fluid from my knee (90 ml, almost half a small can of soda), but they were also worried it might be an infection because of the fever and how "bad" the fluid looked. So they put me on IV antibiotics (which is why I was stuck there for five days).

They also performed knee surgery (under general anesthesia), inserting a camera to clean out anything that had no business being in there. They took a biopsy as well.

After five days, the first test results came back, and since nothing showed any virus, bacteria, or germs, they concluded there was no infection and finally sent me home.

So the good news is: I’m back home now, and I can start working again (though I’ve been told to take it easy and to nap when I need to).

The less good news is that these flare-ups can happen at any time. I need to keep an eye on things, especially if I get injured or sick (inflammation can trigger more inflammation, and an impact can "break" those calcium deposits). And I need to take medication at the very first warning signs, because the meds don’t cure anything, they only stop the crisis, they don’t solve the underlying problem. So if I take them too late, I end up back in the ER to have the fluid drained again. And since the meds are opium-derived, you can imagine I’m never thrilled to take them (they’re the same meds used to treat a gout attack).

Bottom line: if you ever have a knee (or any other joint) that’s hot, swollen, painful, and/or stiff, don’t do what I did. Go see your doctor or go to the ER quickly. Don’t wait four days trying to treat yourself with whatever you have on hand while telling yourself, "it’ll pass".

So… what about Glowing Stones? Despite everything, I kept going: I continued rendering the spicy animations, worked on a new piece of music, and kept doing marketing and communication. I know some people think I should focus only on making the game, but since I’m only paid through game sales and Patreon income (and let’s be honest: $200 a month doesn’t get you very far), I don’t really have a choice: I also have to work on sales.

By the way, if some of you haven’t done it yet and you’d like to support the game, a positive review always helps, trust me! :)

In any case, please know that I’m still working, against all odds, on this game, and I’m even more excited than you are to show you the rest of the story!

I’ll try to do the next report in two weeks, especially to give a quick update on my health.

See you soon, and thank you for your support!