A Brief Leave of Absence

Aside from announcing the birth of my three children and my extended absences in the wake of gaming events, I don't normally post personal newsbits here on GameBanshee. So it's with a bit of hesitation that I leave you this one, and I only do so in the event that it actually transpires into anything more than a few days away from my post.

Last week, after a set of heart palpitations that just about knocked me out and gave me two days of chest pain, I was unexpectedly diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. Basically, having WPW means that I've had an extra electrical pathway in my heart since birth, and it can cause my heart to short circuit without warning to potentially castastrophic results. To further complicate things, my bad pathway is right next to the good pathway in my heart, so there are a handful of risks when dealing with it. But! The good news is that it's 100% curable.

That's all I understand about it, really. Earlier today, I made the roughly six-hour drive to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and will undergo an ablation procedure in the morning where a small team will attempt to cauterize or freeze the extra pathway in my heart with catheters that travel through my jugular and femoral arteries. It's a four-hour procedure, and it's not without its risks, so I thought it was important to let all of you know.

In short, as long as I don't end up with a horrendous die roll while undergoing the first major surgery of my life, there shouldn't be anything more than a small disruption in what you've come to expect from GameBanshee. With any luck, I'll be back later this week, going through my normal daily routine as if nothing ever happened. And in my absence, Brother None and WorstUsernameEver should have you taken care of on the news front, while Steven and Eric continue to work on future features for the site.

See you in a few days!