Health Update

I'm back! As you may or may not know I recently had brain surgery to remove a glomus jugulare tumor from the base of my skull. The surgery was a success and I am know feeling pretty close to normal. I say pretty close to normal, because I did sustain some nerve damage as a result of the surgery. My right vocal chord, swallowing nerves and right shoulder are currently paralyzed. I realize that sounds bad, but I can talk, eat and move my arm. Just not as good as I normally would. The good news is that the voice can be improved with surgery. My swallowing is slowly improving and I am starting physical therapy to help with the shoulder soon.

My big fear was whether or not the surgery would have any impact on my ability to paint and draw. I gave it a test run the other day and it felt great. My shoulder has no affect on my painting other than it does get tired, but if I use a mahl stick to prop up my hand it's fine. Now I'm looking forward to getting on a regular painting schedule and covering all of the empty panels in my studio.