It's been a while since I've made music for anyone but myself; 2017 has been a very tough year.
I've been living with Rheumatoid Arthritis since 2000, and I had a few good years of playing my guitar every day, making music all the time, playing out when ever the mood struck me. Then there were some pretty bad flares and it hurt too much to play more than a few minutes a day.
I did try to stay involved, songwriters workshops, open mics; I hosted an open mic for quite a while.
In August of 2016, I was diagnosed with Grave's Disease, and that has seriously been one of the worst things that has ever happened to me. Being hyperthyroid is terrible. You feel awful, your heart races (I developed an arrhythmia), you are anxious and paranoid - I cried all the time for months. You can't think, or focus. I was out of work for two months. It has taken more than a year to get my thyroid under control and it feels like a lost year.
Then, in July, one of my dearest friends, and my musical partner for years, died after a long battle with lung cancer. I still haven't recovered from that loss.
I'm trying to find my way back, to my music, to a place where I can share and find joy in it again.
My thyroid hormones were normal this month for the first time in more than a year. And, I started a new drug, Rituxan, for the Rheumatoid, and some other pesky problem that cropped up in this last horrible year called B cell lymphocytosis. I'm hoping for the best.
Meanwhile, I have this gift from the wonderful musicians who played when I couldn't and allowed me to record my songs for Chanukah on "With This Flame".
So, I hope you'll listen, and enjoy, and stay tuned.
Karen