Last week (? Two weeks ago? Days are starting to blend.) my father was taken to the hospital.

He had been sick with the flu but it must progressed into a lung infection. Coupled with his COPD it became a very serious condition, very quickly. While in the emergency room, after various tests and so forth, they gave him a diagnosis that he had pneumonia and that he would be admitted. While waiting for a general ward room his oxygen level plummeted and he suddenly made a sort of sneeze sound and dropped limp in my arms. The nurses came in and within seconds he was rushed out of the room leaving my mother, wife and I standing in a state of shock wondering if we had just seen my father pass away in front of our eyes.

Tense minutes later they returned to the room saying he was still with us.

We went into the new room where he was hooked up to ventilators and various machines. There they sucked out lots of fluid from his lungs. In the few minutes, us still in a fuge state, he suddenly tensed again. I saw the monitors flashing red with 'No patient pulse" or something similar. I yelled out to the nurses who stepped back into the room. They poked with the machines for a second then started calling for the doctor.

I'd seen similiar when working as security in a hospital years ago and I suppose TV has spoiled us to what really happens in hospitals but you'd think doctors would hustle to attend to a paient when called in an emergency situation, not amble down the hallway at a leasurily pace while the nurses are performing chest compressions.

I'm telling you, watching your father rushed from a room, seeing him with tubes and ventilators and people performing chest compressions… man, it's some awful feelings. Then to have the doctors come in, sit down with you and basically tell you to start preparing for the worst…

He was moved into the ICU and now, I am happy to say, he is doing a LOT better. Amazingly so in fact. They were saying it would take maybe five days to come off the ventilator (if he ever did that is!).

He was off it in one.

The next day they had him on a face mask.

Day after on nose oxygen tube.

Day after that, normal breathing.

After only a few days he is sitting in the chair in the room, is talking normally and is almost back to his old self. To think that two or three days ago they were suctioning mucus the color of an avocado skin out of him…

The doctor who gave us "The talk" came in a few days ago and the look on his face was pure shock. Even he seemed like he couldn't believe the turnaround in my father's condition. Now everything isn't sunshine and rainbows yet. There have been some other issues but and entire ordeal has left my dad extremely weak, to the point of not being able to stand up on his own.

All of this has, of course, put a big hiccup into my writing and posting schedule.

It has also had another effect of putting some things into perspective.

For a long time "Brian the Drow" has been a sort of hobby for me. Something that I love doing but a pleasure that takes a back seat to other, what I often feel, are more pressing needs.

I need to change that.

Life is precious and we all need to squeeze as much enjoyment out of our time here. So I have decided to commit more to my writing. One step in doing this is to start up a Patreon.

However, I want to make one thing abundantly clear.

I AM NOT SETTING UP THIS PATREON

OR ASKING FOR MONEY FOR MY

FATHER'S MEDICAL BILLS OR TREATMENTS.

This Patreon is to support my writing desire. To have a tangible commitment. To work for what I love and to provide my readers with more of what they have enjoyed so far.

For now the Patreon will simply have a few tiers with a chapter or three posted ahead of the Royal Roads chapters but I would like to grow it more with additions such as discord, art and perhaps side stories.

Before all of this happened I was getting a bit ahead with my prepared chapters. I have been working to clean them up while in waiting rooms and during non-visiting hours and I have posted 3 chapters on the Patreon so far. The chapters will become available on Royal Roads as well but the Patreons will get them a bit ahead so if you would like to get the jump on the story by the Patreon and sign up now.

PATREON PAGE: BRIAN THE DROW

The support that you have all shown me has been tremendous and I hope that you all realise how much I appreciate all of the comments, favorites, kind words and encouragement you have given me on this journey until now and I look forward to continuing ever onward with you all into the future.

Sincerely,

Scott Cross