Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Five Weeks A Prisoner of Ill Health (and counting)

There isn't much new to share. My health crisis continues, and while not life-threatening in any way, it certainly is almost completely debilitating - my mother and mother-in-law have been coming over to cook and clean just to give my husband a break. My pain and fatigue is just so overwhelming that I count it as a good day if I can actually cook even half a meal. I just can't be out of bed for very long. Even holding a book or scrolling on my phone is too painful sometimes. Right now I'm sitting up to write this post, but I'm not going to last very long. These days I don't leave the house except to go to the doctor.

I've been tremendously frustrated and saddened by my inability to work, something that is compounded every time I get an e-mail from a client wondering about updates. It is tremendously discouraging to tell the same person three times that I have no new updates, because my health is just as bad. Everyone on my queue has been incredibly patient and understanding, but that doesn't mean it is easy for them, and I feel terrible about it. I do my best every day, to do what I need to do to get well, but it is hard to have to choose between cooking that half a meal or spending those fifteen good minutes on a sewing commission. It's not just the fatigue and pain, but brain fog. At least if my brain fog causes me to mess up a meal, it just affect me. If I make a sewing mistake, that has much bigger repercussions. (the towels are different because I just sit there and press buttons on my machine, and it takes way less brain power.)

So, anyhow, there's going to be an auto reply on my Elenatintil email account, and it'll stay there until stuff is actually picking up again.

Here it is:

Thank you for your message. Please know that I am dealing with some extreme health issues right now. If you are on my queue, know that I am doing my best to complete all of the projects, however at this point we can't predict when my health will improve and I can only do a very small amount of work each week. If you haven't heard from me in awhile, it is not that I have forgotten you, but simply that my body is not allowing me to make any significant progress on your commission at the current time. Thank you for your patience, and please know that I will update you regarding your project as soon as I have any information to share. It is very hard to know that my health issues are affecting my ability to complete your dream project in a timely manner and I deeply appreciate everyone's understanding.

I've set up this auto reply because I simply don't have the emotional energy to keep replying to inquiries with "nothing new yet, health crisis still ongoing." If you would like to keep an eye on how anything might be changing before you get your e-mail update from me, I suggest periodically checking my public facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/elenatintil

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