I will add updates to the top of this page, as long as I am able to.
Update 11: 16 October 2021
I’m sorry to say the last MRI was not good. We have called off our planned cruise. On the one hand, I am sorry; on the other hand, I am not. It was a relief to not worry about it any more. I have surgery coming up in the next few weeks.
Spyralle has a prize in the 14th Annual Fallen Gods hunt and a booth in the marketplace. Who’d a thunk I would make it so far! Tonight I did the Seeker of Memories hunt and dropped in a little at the party. Said hello to all, then dropped out again, exhausted but happy.
Update 10: 4 September 2021
It has now been a year, more or less, since my first surgery for Glioblastoma. I’ll tell you what, friends, there’s no going back, not at the age I was when I started. Every little bit I’m thankful for, but there’s no going back.
I took most of the summer off, cleaning out closets and taking stuff to the Good Will – no reason for people to take care of all that for me. Taking such big break (I needed it!) was NOT what I needed for SL. One thing about this disease is you forget everything. There are a few fall things I really want to do, which means learn to do all over again, which means learning to do them ALL over again – such as Photoshop, Blender and Second Life. Yes, Second Life! I don’t know if I want to do it all again, folks. I’ll work again on what I need for what I’m doing, but that’s about it.
My daughter has made her own avatar and is learning things as she can, but she works a full time job and has a house to take care of, so I don’t think things will ramp up again when she takes over, and no reason for that to happen. We’re doing things behind the scenes and will continue to do so into the winter. We took care of the legal stuff months ago, and I tell you that was quite a load off my mind!
In the meantime I’m enjoying just doing what I’m doing – which is trying to learn left-button mouse in Blender and what-ever-they-think-they’ve-got-going-over-there in Adobe. Just trying to remember enough of it to get by. I made an item for the Ren Hunt by Historical Hunt, Ltd, and it took five days for a two day job! If I’m lucky, I’ll try to get something ready for S.O.S. and the annual parade of the Fallens at Fallen Gods. We’ll see.
In late October my husband and I will set out from Venice to Athens, cruising the Adriatic on the north side. We were supposed to go last May but Covid-19 intervened. It’s our last chance so keep your fingers crossed for me!
I don’t know what will happen after that.
Friends, if you want your SL property – I know plenty of you have enough of it! – to go where and how it should, see a lawyer.
SEE A LAWYER!
You never know when Something might happen to you. On-line assets can become a very large piece of property and you don’t want it to disappear. Linden Lab has some very clear language on the subject. They were very helpful to me.
Update 9: 24 May 2021
I was so tired after Fantasy Faire I took a break. My days were filled with sleeping, reading, sleeping, walking with my spouse, sleeping, gardening, sleeping – well, you get my drift. I suppose it’s no accident that my final chemo cycle fell right when Faire ended. Each one took longer to recover from than the one before. In a few weeks I have my next MRI and then we’ll decide where to go from there, but for now: No Chemo!
Speech therapy has to wait until I can get on the list again. I take two Blender courses per week and get into SL to hang out with my friends, that’s about it. I’m evaluating future events and decided what I can do. I already had to cancel one, maybe premature but I was so wiped out after the Faire it was the wisest thing I could have done.
The next thing is Silk Road Hunt. We’ll see…
Update 8: 18 March 2021
“You’re better.”
That’s what the doctor said when I went in yesterday. I was shocked. Usually this disease make you worse, not better. I knew what he meant – inching slowly upward; not ever normal again, but improved after surgery – and I’ll take it! I can text chat in SL again because I can go back and correct it. Voice gives me great anxiety (RL also) because I get held up on one word and the whole train of thought goes up in smoke, but that is also better. I manage one person at a time, and I do it better when I can act the word out.
In SL, I have to relearn everything, but it’s improving. Thank goodness we get to keep our Deleted files! I can’t tell you how many things I’ve deleted by accident. I keep finding my avatar in strange places. Blender and Photoshop are also better. It’s very interesting. I can’t rely on muscle memory; I have tell myself the little steps to do. This is because two parts of my brain are not coordinated yet. I have to rebuild all those pathways. It’s very good practice. Spyralle has been in several events, which is also good practice.
Well, next week it’s chemo again, and back to – not square one, but square-I-know-what. Sixteen? Seventy-seven?
Update 7: 14 February 2021
Still in chemo. I had to put off one session because my blood was too low on platelets and something else. Still putting one foot in front of the other in SL. I keep thinking I’ll have to stop, but no. It’s too much pleasure. As long as I keep it simple, I can do it. The problem is, I have to go back and learn things again. And again, and again. The keystrokes that were so fluid and mindless are once again painstaking and slow.
The Epiphany Gift is still coming, for member and subscribers. It may be Easter, but it is coming.
Update 6: 2 December 2020
Doctor visit today. He is quite pleased with how I am doing, in spite of some complications. I am told my verbal communications have improved, but I can’t see it yet.
Masks for the Enchantment ‘Phantom of the Opera’ got done and are there now. I am reminded that most booth owners only do one thing for events. Don’t know why some events make me think I should do three. (Not the event’s fault.)
Today my annual sale started! It couldn’t do any of the treats I usually plan for members, because I had two new areas to open up and each one took very long to get done. I started them both over six months ago! Part of the plan was to go over all the previous merchandise and update all I could, because more recent residents hadn’t seen them and because I’ve learned a thing since then. Most of them started out as hunt prizes, so you aren’t missing anything if you got them free.
The other major category is going back into Bakes on Mesh and making sure everything and making sure everything is worthy of release again. Some them had Omega and some of them didn’t. My goal here is made everything as consistent as possible, say “Bakes on Mesh” on the advertising and re-orient the in the packet instructions. Not easy for one who has lost so much speech. So fun to see the Thornweaver and Waverider out again. I did Starseeker so late in the phase I never took it out of release.
Update 5: 29 October 2020
Radiation is done. It build and builds. You think, it’s not so bad, but by the end you are completely wasted. Round one of chemo is also done. It takes a couple of weeks to come back afterwards. I have 6 more rounds of chemo, but they tell me the draggy feeling is more from radiation. We’ll see.
I know there’s just a couple more days, but I do have some things in the Market at the Fallen Gods anniversary, plus a prize in their hunt, which you can see in regular posts. I actually did the hunt! I was flat on my back for most of it, so I missed the good parties and stuff.
For November, I have two events planned. One is Enchantment and the other is the anniversary of my store! We’re Eleven Years Old! It will not be a big to-do, mostly a sale. I’m working hard on getting the expansion done, trying to remember what I was doing when I left off. I’m able to work on this maybe an hour at a time, so each project takes about a week. Waverider and Thornweaver are back as Bakes on Mesh. They’re on the lower level.
I decided I needed to take the Blender Benders course again. My fingers have lost the modern stuff and gone back to the old stuff and I get horribly confused. At least Photoshop is coming along nicely, though slowly.
Update 5: 17 September 2020
Good news! I finally got the okay to go ahead with radiation and chemotherapy, which has been put off for over a month due to the second surgery. It will proceed next week.
Thanks to Ever Courtois, who made room for my “sugar bowl” at Spoonful of Sugar, I pressed ahead and made two new items for Doctors Without Borders. This is encouraging me to hope that I might do a very small number of events/hunts – like one per month – depending on the outcome of treatments, at least for a while. Keeping my fingers crossed!
Another thing that got put off during the second recovery was speech therapy. Today I was finally evaluated and found to have a type of aphasia. I can carry on normal conversation, but certain words aren’t there. The more pressure I feel (like a timed test), the more the words just evaporate. This can be helped in therapy sessions by “building new synapses.”
So, in the meantime, if you want me on your charades team, be aware! I can act it out like crazy, but I can’t guess.
Update 4: 24 August 2020
Unfortunately, as soon as the stitches were taken out of my original incision, it became obvious that there was infection there, so I had to go back and have a lot of it done again. I’ve been home since Friday, mostly resting up and taking antibiotics. We’ll get there!
Update 3: 13 August, 2020
Thing look unbelievably better this last week! It is now two weeks since I was able to come home from the hospital, and there is radiation and chemotherapy planned starting next week. I have made huge gains in writing and communicating on my own. We have a lot of ground to cover still with occupational, speech and physical therapy, but everyone on the medical end of my treatment is very pleased with how well I am doing. I may even be able to drive again in a few months!
Right now, it is not easy to log in during my former working hours – I’m just too tired by evening, but that is improving every day. Please continue to be patient about customer service. Ask again, if I don’t respond. We’ll get there.
As soon as my schedule settles down, I may be able able to go back to more time working on new things for Spyralle! It is likely they will be be slower for a while, so I am not ready to plunge into new events. I will try to release some of the things I planned for fall events as store releases, but right now I think it is safer if I do not attempt to keep up with outside events. We’ll see how things go after September.
Thanks to so many for your support and encouragement! I could not answer the messages at the time, but every one of them meant a lot to me.
Update 2, August 4, 2020
Although I am dropping out of events, I can still do customer service, though you need to be very, very, very patient. I able to be online a few hours a days.
I am gradually closing Tai’Daied and returning the things she left here, so if you want them, I suggest you get them soon.
Update 1, August 1, 2020
This is essence of the note I send out to group and the people I’ve been working with, July 23 – 24, with update August 1.
Yesterday morning (July 23) I was diagnosed with gioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. I had hoped for better outcome, but this is what I have to deal with. I don’t know how long I have.
Writing and speaking are very difficult, so I may not be able to answer messages, though I will do my best as long as I can. This happened very fast. The main impact right now is that my ability to communicate is badly effected, and any kind of talking or writing is very difficult, including answering messages. I appreciate your good wishes, but may not be able to answer.
This information is not private, and I probably left a lot of people off my list, so you may pass it on if you wish.
As of today, I am dropping (July 24) out of all events and hunts I am signed up for. I’m sorry, I because I have looked forward to all of them.
Spyralle and Mauno Waipio will remain open. I have made legal arrangement to pass my accounts, my business, my virtual estate and my intellectual property to my daughter when the time comes. What she will do them them is up to her, but the island and store will remain open for at least four to six months, while we prepare for that transition, whenever it comes – which may be many months yet.
She is a talented young lady who has worked me on a number of real life projects. I have arranged trusted help for her in Second Life. Everything is in motion.
The last eleven years in running Spyralle – and the last three especially – have been experiences I would not trade any for anything. Even if our contacts were brief – maybe just an event – I enjoyed knowing you. I spoke up very little – I was a quiet little mouse – I was always there, listening, enjoying the jokes, keeping up with it all, and above all, being inspired by your work. And I want each of you know I have taken great joy in knowing you.
The customers – some of you have now been with me since the beginning – you were my reason for doing this! You got it, what I was doing. And it wasn’t clear if I was trendy or whatever either. There was time I used to care; I gave that up three years ago. Spyralle always from “other”. I’ve gone back to my art house studio roots. I don’t have time for any thing else.
I had a good outcome from surgery. I have more treatments. I am learning to compensate for the speech deficits. It will be slow. All the whole side of my “designing” brain is still good and right in there. We have a lot of months to laugh and be amused that this crazy world. And I intend to.
Spyralle 