This has been a month of ups and downs for our family. You may remember my update last October when my husband had a painful back crisis. With several weeks of physical therapy, he could manage the symptoms but we were advised he’d eventually need back surgery.

Since he runs his own tax preparation business, he scheduled the procedure for May 28, in between tax deadlines to give us some recovery time. His brilliant business partner will help out as needed until he’s back in the office. His surgery, a laminectomy of the lower back, successfully eliminated the pain he’s had for several years.

Frozen and Hidden Dangers

You’re also aware that in my “down time” (what’s that? ha!) I enjoy performing at the local theater. Since my husband couldn’t drive during his recovery, rather than trying out for an onstage role, I had the great pleasure to play cello in the orchestra for a youth production of FROZEN.

Best made plans and all that…right? Following his surgery, he’d been given multiple prescriptions to address recovery pain. We didn’t realize some of what he experienced had nothing to do with his surgical recovery. On Thursday June 25, four weeks to the day from his surgery, I returned home at 9:30 pm from a performance of Frozen. I found him fallen in the bathroom from weakness due to massive blood loss from two gastric ulcers we knew nothing about.

God Bless Paramedics!

A week earlier, he’d also fallen but with no injuries or overt problems–just a loss of balance. I couldn’t get him up and called 911 for help–thank goodness! See, the city arbitrarily changed our longtime address a year or so ago, and that’s never been properly updated on city maps. The ambulance was sent to an empty field a quarter mile away. They found us finally, and apparently updated their maps.

Because when THIS time I called, they arrived within 10 minutes. My husband had lost consciousness in that time from call to arrival. Off to ER we drove–and I sat in the lobby and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Only later did I learn how close we came to losing him. He’d lost 50 percent of his blood.

He’s okay now, thanks God. Paramedics got him to the ICU in time, and he spent almost a week in the hospital. Ulcers cauterized (some with artery exposed); infection treated; leg blood clots discovered and treated. Still too weak to come home, he’s in a fantastic rehabilitation facility to get him back on his feet. I discovered one of my theatre friends works there…nothing like getting a hug and smiles from a friend as you check in.

JULY 9 UPDATE: These past weeks has had ups and downs, though. Understandably, he’s had some confusion due to everything he’s been through. The doctors noted this isn’t unusual in the hospital. Now after a week in rehab, physically he’s much better but confusion continues and that’s NOT like him–so I pressed the medical staff for answers.

Today he got an MRI that confirmed and located a suspected spinal infection–a massive abscess, which explains many of his additional symptoms. While extremely serious, identifying the problem and treating it remains our top goal. We see the surgeon on Monday for next steps–possibly surgical drainage of the abscess followed by weeks of IV antibiotic treatments. We’re hopeful for a full recovery. Thanks to all who have reached out with support and prayers.

Next Shojai Thriller Update: CUT AND BLEED

Yes, I’m still working on the first draft of book #10 CUT AND BLEED. As you can imagine, my husband’s emergency takes priority so I’m a wee bit behind. I have about 10 more chapters to complete the book, and then–THEN my friends–I’ll have a call-out for the next HERO PETS in the story. *s*

Prior to all this, I was interviewed on some fun podcasts. So if you’re interested, follow the links below.

The first one happened in a very odd way–I received a SCAM email pretending to be an author/podcast host inviting me to be a guest (for a fee!). These days, when the scammer impersonates a well-known author, agent, or editor, I make a point to copy the REAL person to make them aware. When I reached out to the REAL Alan Peterson (thriller author), he actually invited me (for reals!) to be a guest and discuss the issue of scammers among other things. Here’s the link to that show:

MTTA 240: Amy Shojai Interview – Pet-Centric Thrillers

I also was interviewed with my play-writing parther Frank Steele on another podcast. If interested in our play writing process, it’s a fun listen. It’s a two-part show here, or at the links below: