By Guy Chapman – Navarro County Gazette
Yes We Can
I’ve gone back and forth about if I’ve wanted to share this as part of my column, but I make effort to be consistently open with my updates. Considering recent events have been ongoing, and I don’t know how long the effects will continue, I suppose I should talk about this past month.
At the beginning of the month, I was in a car accident. I was sitting in a fast food drive-thru when someone decided to rear end my back bumper. The damage to my car wasn’t terrible, but the jolt snapped my head and caused pain in my neck, shoulder, and back.
It’s also believed I had a concussion.
For two weeks, I felt “off.” “Muted” would be a better term. My usually busy mindset hasn’t been as active or focused. My short-term memory didn’t exist for a week and a half, and even now, it still needs prompting. I’ve slept a lot more. I finally got rid of the daily headaches. Now it’s just some days.
When the doctors told me to cut back on reading and staring at screens for a few days, that was frustrating. I mean, that’s the bulk of my job after all, and why you as a reader see so many words on this site. Fortunately, my business partner took up the bulk of coverage for two weeks, but it’s hard not to just throw up hands being sidelined from my own work.
The good news is, I’ve been coming back to “the screen” in the past week. Focus and memory are improving, but I have to keep my concentration and do more self-editing to retain my former level, and I still have to take breaks. There’s also the back and forth of dealing with insurance and medical appointments, so I’m busy, though I still don’t feel as productive right now.
I learned a long time ago in the entertainment industry the “behind the scenes” can be a chaotic force of nature, but as long as the onstage show looks good, and people are getting a quality performance, that’s all that matters. Thanks to support, the Gazette stayed up when I could not. If you didn’t notice I was gone for a few weeks, that was the goal.
It gets better every week. I’m going to a specialist today to see if they can figure out how to help me heal faster. I’m not one to be out for too long, so I’m looking forward to getting through these next few stages. But I’m still here. Just a little slower for the time being.
Thanks again for continuing to support the Gazette’s journey. – Guy
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