Lets start with the good. I've gotten some great art over the last 9 months or so.
A Red Riding Hood (Zenescope GFT) and a Kate Bishop Hawkeye by Randy "Rantz" Kintz. I have really loved his art for a long time but couldn't justify the pricing of the size of art I collect (11x14 or 11x17). He had a sale which was too good to pass up in April, so I grabbed these 2 pieces. I gave Randy complete creative freedom on the Hawkeye piece for her costume, as she hasn't really had a real costume. I asked for something sexy, but yet clues as to who she is. I think he did a great job with both.
In March I got a Tom Hodges 11x17 color commission to be picked up at a convention, and a fellow collector was kind enough to pick it up on my behalf. I asked for a cute and fun Wonder Girl. Again, Tom did not disappoint with the request.
I also snagged an Ed Benes 11x17 colored pencil drawing of MJ Watson on ebay for a hell of a price. It was listed on the website for over $1K, and I got it for a fraction of that.
In December I ordered a Steve Scott Baroness vs Lady Jaye commission. There was a slight mixup on shipping the piece but I eventually got it, and it is awesome.
Sunny Lee gifted me with an awesome Havok and Polaris commission, as a companion piece I ordered a year or so ago. Sunny's generosity is incredible.
I also ordered a Thony Silas Havok and Polaris during one of his sales, where if you bought a piece you could get a commission for half price. I bought a very reasonably priced DC Girls piece and requested a Polaris and Havok piece. Mr. Silas accidentally painted the characters in the wrong costume, and in lieu of a refund he offered to redo the piece and sen me both paintings at no extra charge. Very nice fella, and an incredibly talented artist.
I also got a Thor related cover commission.
For Christmas, my wife got me a Tim Tyler Avengers themed cover commission featuring the Black Knight and Sersi. Great stuff!
Now, on to the bad stuff that has happened to me since my last post.
Back in December I started having some numbness in my left foot and had some difficulty walking. I thought I just pulled a muscle or strained something horseplaying with Oliver. In janury my symptoms started getting much worse to the point I had trouble getting around. By the first week in February I started getting concerned as a slew of other symptoms started showin up very quickly that were not good. I do not want to go into details on them, but they seemed alot like early stages of MS. I called a neurologist and they ran some tests and said I had a mildly bulged disk in my lower back that was causing the problems. I knew I had a bad disc, but I knew these symptoms were beyond that. They did an MRI but it was only on my lower back. They suggested I make an appointment to see a neurosurgeon. I called several and nobody had any appointments earlier than 6-8 weeks out. By February 9th, I couldn't walk without the aid of a cane. On Monday February 11th, I called again, an still nothing available. My wife and I decided to go to the emergency room to get some answers. After some MRIs an CAT scans, I was admitted into the hospital that night. There was an 'abnormality' in the thoracic area of my spine. They weren't sure what it was, but they knew it was bad. After 3 more days of tests, they determined it was a cyst that grew inward and fused to my spine, causing the lower spine to nearly separate thus causing my issues or something else, which I cannot remember the name of, but it was very rare. The doctors said they couldn't tell until they had me on the operating table what it actually was due to the nature it was fused to my spine. I went threw a host of agonizing tests that week. I am talking pure hell. Before the surgery, the doctor said if it wasn't a cyst, but the other possibility, I would be permanently wheelchair bound after the surgery, just due to the nature of what it was. Luckily, it was a cyst, that had grown inward, separating my spine and fusing to it. They were able to successfully remove it after a 4 hour surgery. It wasn't cancerous, so that was lucky. The surgery was on Friday February 15th. On Sunday the 117th I was transported to another facility to start rehab. There was a lot of damage done to my nerves and spine, so I was in the hospital for a month doing rehab. The first week I couldn't walk. It was 3 weeks before I could even get out of bed on my own. The team of therapists, doctors and nurses I worked with were wonderful.
I am on the road to recovery, but will always have some issues due to the damage. Chances are I'll need to use a cane for the rest of my life. I was off work for 3 months doing various types of therapy.
It could have been much worse. I was discharged from the hospital on my 36th birthday, March 12th, which leads to the GREAT thing that has happened. My wife gave birth to our 2nd child, Henry Diesel Bayer on March 11, 2013. Her delivery was in the same hospital I was doing rehab, so they wheeled me up to be in the room during the C-section.
With everything my wife has handled this year, there should be a statue erected in her honor. She is an amazing woman, who has impressed and surprised me with how well she has handled having a newborn and a disabled adult to take care of.
My situation was especially hard on Oliver, but once I was home we have really bonded. Even at 3 years old, he has such a mature understanding of what I went through it blows my mind.
So yeah, it's been an intense year.
I have gotten some great commissions since I've been home. a piece from Brian Lopez-Santos, featuring wonder girl (cassie), Batgirl (stephanie) and supergirl (kara) hanging out in stephanie's room.
I also bought a couple of pieces from a guy named Scott West, mostly featuring the character of Kate Bishop, the Hawkeye from the Young Avengers. Great prices and great talent from both guys.
i also ordered a Hawkeye themed piece from John Beatty and another from Tom Grummett. I can't wait to see how they turn out. :-)
Hopefully I'll do this more often.
