I’m freshly out of the hospital from a brief surgery stint, due to an abscess/fistula combo that came about from Crohn’s disease. I’m doing well, thank you for asking and I should be back to work in no time.
Its been almost 8 years since I needed to be hospitalized, and I was surprised by how the memories of past hospitalizations (which were traumatic for various reasons) came back to me…with a vengeance. It made me realize- I mean, really realize…not in the way you would take in information from reading and think about it, but from actual experience- how traumatic memories can be triggered, and how they can become bothersome once again if a similar situation arises later in one’s life. This is probably something that happens to many people with chronic illnesses, but I don’t know for sure since I tend to avoid any research on the subject…it just hits too close to home.
Although I was not feeling up to creating artwork during this incident, I did notice there were some symbols that popped into my head, that I’ll probably make artwork about in the future. A recurring fantasy is that somehow my muscles will give way, causing everything to spill out, and I’d be left a lump on the floor. Also, being cut and sewn up from surgery causes me to feel sort of Frankenstein-ish, and some of my past artwork reflects that.
When the new pieces come, I will be sure to put them up on the artwork page.