After posting the first two posts in this WBC Daily Debrief Series that I had so much hope for (the introduction post on Tuesday, July 25th at 8:00am and then the first Daily Debrief post later that night), things went very badly and unfortunately I was hospitalized. But, there is a story to it.
After returning to my room on Tuesday night at about 10:30pm and finishing up writing the first Daily Debrief Series post, I started feeling really nauseous. In fact, I had been feeling so most of the day and off and on over the past 2-3 weeks but it never really lead to anything. But, this night, it would lead to a pukathon like none I had ever experienced before. From around 11:00pm until sometime just before the sun rose at 6:00am, I had run to the bathroom to expel nothing from my stomach but a pale yellowish brown liquid known as bile that aids in our digestion of food about every 45 minutes. Sometimes I would just lie on the cool tile of the bathroom floor resting until the next event. Finally, around 7:30am, I woke up Alexander (who I am sure had heard me most of the night) and asked if he could call the front desk to inquire as to where I could go for some medical attention. There were not a lot of choices in and around Seven Springs and the front desk urged us to call 911 and ask for transport to the Somerset Hospital in Somerset about 30 minutes away. We did so and waited for about 30 minutes for them to arrive. They packed me up and took me on some back roads winding through the hills and mountains of the Pennsylvania countryside at which time I struggled to not lose my stomach. Finally arrived at the emergency room and they admitted me and began a series of tests and questions to understand what was going on.
I am a diabetic, and have been since 2007, and consider myself very diligent and careful about my blood sugar. My last A1C, which is a measure of the glucose level in my blood over a 3 month period, was 6.9 and I rarely go over 200 if ever because I try to eat low carb. They hooked me up to a few different IV’s and pumped me full of sugar water and then took a blood sample. After reviewing the blood, they determined that my ketone levels were high in my blood and asked me questions about my medicines. In June this year, my endocrinologist switched me over to a few new drugs, Jardiance and Ozempic, to help control my diabetes ups and downs and to get me away from using insulin. They believed that I was in what is called diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which occurs when the body starts breaking down fat at a rate that is much too fast. The liver processes the fat into a fuel called ketones, which causes the blood to become acidic. So basically, my blood was becoming extremely acidic. In fact, my levels were in the high 40’s when normal is between 10-12.
Over the next 4 days, they pumped me full of medicines and tried to flush out the acid to bring me down to an acceptable level. Finally, on Sunday, I was at an acceptable level and was feeling much better. Weak but much better and had actually started eating chicken broth and mashed potatoes as they wanted me on a semi-liquid diet for a week or so after. They also found that I have a few ulcers in my stomach that was causing some of my heartburn and indigestion over the past few months and tied that to the evil medicines I was on. I am now off those medicines and have generally returned to normal and am back at work for 4-6 hours per day in the office.
I want to point out a few things. First, I am very grateful for my friend, partner and brother in law Alexander. He was very strong for me during this ordeal and did his best to make sure I was comfortable that morning after the chunder fest. He packed my bag with a change of clothes, some additional socks, my wallet, reading glasses and phone as well as some snacks. He also stayed with me for the first few hours when they were admitting me and getting me diagnosed. I demanded that he return to WBC and have fun as we had lots of plans to play games and do interviews with designers and publishers and I really didn’t want to ruin his vacation. I am blessed to have him in my life and am grateful for his friendship.
Second, I want to thank everyone who sent texts, Facebook messages and emails checking in on me. I didn’t really respond to these messages much as I was out of if the first few days but I want to let everyone know that it was much appreciated. People are very kind and those words of encouragement helped get me through this ordeal. My wife also was stellar and came on Friday to be with me as she had just started school and our daughters needed attention. She also talked with the doctors and nurses often to get updates and stay in touch. It was a bit lonely in that room all by myself. I was bored frequently, couldn’t really sleep and had no interest in watching tv or reading as my head hurt and I was still a bit nauseous. Those 4 1/2 days dragged on and I felt like I was in a time warp but am grateful for those who cared for me, worked hard to make me comfortable and figured out what was wrong and got me back on the path to recovery.
I was very sad that I missed WBC! Well, I did have the first day and it was full of great stuff with meeting and discussing games with Gregory M. Smith, talking with Bryan Collars (designer of Crown & Crescent: The Struggle for Independence in South Carolina from Multi-Man Publishing), saying hi to the great John Butterfield, Ben Hull, Stephen Buonocore formerly with Stronghold Games, and loads of fans and friends (such as Mike Heckman and John Sy). We also played a game of Border Reivers with Ed Beach. It was short lived but I will return in the future. We love WBC and really look forward to the event each year.
Once again, thank you for all of your thoughts and messages. I am back and will be fine going forward.
-Grant
Glad you’re on the mend!
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Me too. Very fortunate that I was wise about what was going on and didn’t act all tough!
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Sorry you had to go through all that – but glad you got through it safely! It’s awesome having a great friend like Alexander and your wife is a true heroine as well. Sorry I missed you there but hopefully we’ll get together at another con down the road. Best wishes and good health!
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Yeah it really ruined my vacation! But as you said I learned lots about myself, about my friend Alexander and about my family. Most importantly I know that people are there for me and that is worth any amount of pain, discomfort and trouble! See you sometime soon Hermann.
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Grant I am so sorry this happened and thank goodness you made the right call for help. I was wondering what happened and was hoping it was not from the flak you must have taken for the typo on the first post! My wife just survived 31 days in the hospital and 16 on a ventilator so we know about hospitals. Get well and keep up the good work with Alexander! You two revived my board game interests when I discovered the Players Aid several years ago. Since then I have accumulated around 75 additional games!
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Thanks Bill and sorry for your wife’s trouble. Hospitals are not my favorite places for sure but I am glad I was only there for 4 1/2 days. Thanks for following our stuff and glad you are back into gaming. Take care.
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That sounds horrendous! Feel better. There will be more gaming later on.
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It was not good…but it is over now and I am back to normal or at least close to normal!
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Thanks for the update. Glad you are getting better. Your shared story supports all of us who take more than the occasional Advil, that we need to be aware how we are doing. Our closest friends and family are essential as we watch out for each other. Taking action when appropriate is very important. Just being on a medication or two doesn’t mean you’re cured back to your 18 year old self. Men are especially prone to putting off medical attention.
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I am definitely proud of myself that I recognized that this was not normal and called the hospital. Normally, I am very adverse to this course of action but this felt different.
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Grant:
Sorry to hear about this, but it’s a relief to know you’re feeling better.Â
I’m relatively new to the wargaming hobby (going to my first con next week), and you and Alexander have been fantastic virtual friends as I find my way into the hobby.
Kip Wedel
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Thanks Kip. Feeling much better!
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I’m sorry to hear you had such a crappy WBC experience. I’m glad you got it all sorted out, and are feeling better!
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Me too! I will return (not next year though unfortunately but in 2025).
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Grant, thanks for the update. Count me as one the many who was looking forward to and wondering what happened to the Daily Brief. That said, truly thrilled that you are feeling better. Big fan of you and Alex and I have bought many games you have recommended (the last being The Night). Get well soon my friend who I have never met,….hoping for the best for you and your family.
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Thanks Ron. Appreciate that.
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Take care Grant. Thoughts and prayers for you and the family. Godspeed Kevin.
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Thanks Kevin. I am doing 100% better. I am definitely getting back to normal.
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Thanks Kevin.
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Wow! Had no idea! Glad to hear you’re on the road to recovery. WBC will be around next year, so take care of yourself.
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Hey Grant. What a story… As a type 1 diabetic I share a similar daily, weekly, monthly, forever ordeal. Course the big difference for me is, the only meds I take for it are insulin. Sounds like the origin of your trip to the hospital was that you were taken off insulin some time back and your cells resorted to fat consumption as the primary fuel mechanism? Curious to know why that decision was made and why docs would rather you be only on those other meds. I know T2 is a totally different deal from T1 but from my angle insulin is a simple to understand hormone and the various T2 medicines are quite complicated to get right. Did you chat with the Dr about the possibility of T1 being thrown in on the pile? I was only diagnosed with it 12 years ago at 39. Anyway, all’s well that ends well. Take care my friend! We should design a states of siege board game where you have to fend off an ever advancing army of body processes, medications, etc that end in the disaster of ketoacidosis. Ok, maybe not. 😉. On a side note, I’m on a trip to Costa Rica with my fam and on day one, in the beautiful 86deg blue waves of the Pacific my continuous glucose monitor got ripped off and was gone forever. I spent an hour frantically searching for it while being pounded by now very angry and hostile waves. Total panic set in. I was doomed to die in my sleep from crushingly low blood sugar. Luck had that I was able to find an old school finger poke device for the remainder of the trip. Back to the glorious waves! But first I have to get in a game of Maquis! Cheers Mate!
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Doctor wanted to try to get my ups and downs more stable and felt that insulin was not doing it for me. We tried this, it worked for a while but was slowly poisoning me so I am now off of it and back to my use of insulin.
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Grant, thank you for your openness. Very happy to hear everything worked out and you are on the mend. Kudos to Alexander — you can count people like him on one hand.
Cheers, James
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Hi, Grant! Wow, what a nightmare! We are very grateful to have you back! Yours is a powerful and important story for several reasons–thank you for displaying the courage to share it with us.
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Grant, it sounds like on Tuesday night you had a very personal twilight struggle. You managed to handle a bad event card without moving too far down the defcon track. Fortunately, it turned out to be a co-op game and you had good help! Onward and upward.
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Hahaha. Well played.
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Grant;
Shit happens! Just so glad to hear you better and that Alex can be counted on when the chips are down!
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Absolutely!
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All the best good Grognard !
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Thank you!
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Grant, hope you are on the road to getting better. Getting old is a pain, I had to cut down on the hoagies and chocolate cake,
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Hahaha. Me too. Me too.
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Most importantly, good to know you are feeling better. I hope to play a game with you again the next time I pass through town. Stay well, and thanks to both of you for all you contribute to TPA, and specifically your contributions to the blog.
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Sorry to hear about your episode and glad you did do 911 right away. That is a real emergency. I am also glad I read it since I am almost the same as you 6.8 A1C. And I am also on Jardiance and Long Term Insulin. And I have had those exact same symptoms a few times (with me using Urgent Care and IV drips) before but it was always just food poisoning, and had them before I was on any diabetic meds. And without reading this, I most likely, if it happened again, would have tried to tough it through as 24 food poisoning. I think I will go in much sooner now. FYI: I am not on Ozempic since my Doctor said only one or the other, but not both at the same time in relation to Jardiance and Ozempic, I started with Jardiance to try it out, and it has really helped me. But I will keep a sharp eye out now. So Glad you shared this story so others can be aware.
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Hopefully my story can act as a warning.
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Grant,
Glad you had Alexander there and got speedy medical assistance. I had a lot of diabetic family members on my maternal side of the family and it can be an insidious disease.(fortunately I have never had it). Take care buddy!
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Wow, what an ordeal! I’m glad you’re on the mend and upswing. And glad that you have so many great people in your life as well.
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So glad you are on the mend! Being Ill away from home is terrible I know, you are lucky to have had a true friend with you. Now you have received all the sympathy you need, get on with the great content you both produce! LOL Best wishes
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What a nightmare! Hope you’ll be restored soon and spared similar ordeals in the future!
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Really pleased to hear you are on the mend Grant and kudos to Alexander and your Wife for all the support. Very best wishes.
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Get well soon Grant. Be sure to keep a jumper over your hospital bed to stay warm. Get well soon so you can be back to throwing dice and chits soon. 🙂
Alexander – not that you read the blog but thank you for saving our favourite grognard. You deserve a medal. 😎
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Thanks. I am doing much better. Been home 2 weeks. Back at work. Eating solid food now and much better energy.
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Well Sir, am very glad that you are writing about yourself and we’re not having to read Alexander composing something on your behalf for one reason (“Grant isn’t able to do much of anything right now”) or some truly terrible other reason (best left unsaid). Sounds like a bit of a close call, especially given the location. I trust you’ve heard enough jokes about the state of games in development that you saw made you throw up and all.
Once again you and Alexander made the right call and made us all the happier for it. Take care of yourself.
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Glad you are on the mend.
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Me too. Thanks.
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What a horrible experience! Not the con you were hoping for! Hope next year’s WBC makes up for it.
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