The crazy train keeps on rolling
Holy cow, 2010 has so far been one of the most insane years of my life. Some stress, some chaos, a lot of emotion. But I have gotten through each bump in the road and am stronger and more clear-headed for each and every hurdle I have cleared.
I don't have the energy for a long post, although there is a lot to say. The most recent craziness was one of the scarier hurdles, although everything turned out okay in the end and I am proud of how my crisis management skills measured up.
Basically, sparing you all the long version of the story, I went out to visit Mike in Winnipeg last Thursday (he's there filming a movie for 6 weeks) and on Friday night, through a series of ridiculous events, Mike went blind. He managed to scratch off the entire first layer of both corneas. After a number of hours spent at the hospital, several consults with specialists, many eye drops and 24 hours of complete blindness; he is fine. No permanent damage and his vision is now back to about 95%. By the time I left on Monday night he was able to see, although everything was blurry and he was very sensitive to light, necessitating sunglasses even at night or in a dimly lit room. But he's fine. It was very scary, but we got through it, we were together (thank GOD) and he even went back to work while still 100% blind and shot two short scenes in which he could wear sunglasses and sit in a chair in the back of the scene while others went about things around him. But I had to stand just out of camera range, ready to escort him off set as soon as they called "cut". So now when we watch the movie it will be extra weird to know that he was blind in those to scenes. Bizarre.
The great things that came out of my visit are numerous:
- we now know for an absolute fact that we can handle anything together, that neither of us will fall apart in a crisis and that if he ever went blind permanently I make one heck of an assistant/guide
- I had the chance to bond pretty deeply with his cast and crew, more so even than if the visit had just been full of fun and silliness. Mike had become very close to two actors (seriously, the three of them are pretty inseparable) which is partly why I had wanted to visit, if these guys are going to be a big part of his life I wanted a chance to meet them. And I adore them. A lot. So much so that I miss them almost as much as I miss Mike (especially since I will be seeing Mike again soon, but don't know when I will see Milo and Ivan again...)
- I got to see Mike chop up a dead body with an axe. It was intense, and not how I would normally spend a Friday evening. But he kicked some serious ass and really, really raised the bar for this movie. I was so proud of him and I will always remember how every jaw dropped and how every head swiveled towards me while we watched through the monitors as he went for it with every fibre of his being. Man, my boy is acting the shit out of this movie, and everyone knows it.
- Plus? I got to see the reactions to...
I don't have the energy for a long post, although there is a lot to say. The most recent craziness was one of the scarier hurdles, although everything turned out okay in the end and I am proud of how my crisis management skills measured up.
Basically, sparing you all the long version of the story, I went out to visit Mike in Winnipeg last Thursday (he's there filming a movie for 6 weeks) and on Friday night, through a series of ridiculous events, Mike went blind. He managed to scratch off the entire first layer of both corneas. After a number of hours spent at the hospital, several consults with specialists, many eye drops and 24 hours of complete blindness; he is fine. No permanent damage and his vision is now back to about 95%. By the time I left on Monday night he was able to see, although everything was blurry and he was very sensitive to light, necessitating sunglasses even at night or in a dimly lit room. But he's fine. It was very scary, but we got through it, we were together (thank GOD) and he even went back to work while still 100% blind and shot two short scenes in which he could wear sunglasses and sit in a chair in the back of the scene while others went about things around him. But I had to stand just out of camera range, ready to escort him off set as soon as they called "cut". So now when we watch the movie it will be extra weird to know that he was blind in those to scenes. Bizarre.
The great things that came out of my visit are numerous:
- we now know for an absolute fact that we can handle anything together, that neither of us will fall apart in a crisis and that if he ever went blind permanently I make one heck of an assistant/guide
- I had the chance to bond pretty deeply with his cast and crew, more so even than if the visit had just been full of fun and silliness. Mike had become very close to two actors (seriously, the three of them are pretty inseparable) which is partly why I had wanted to visit, if these guys are going to be a big part of his life I wanted a chance to meet them. And I adore them. A lot. So much so that I miss them almost as much as I miss Mike (especially since I will be seeing Mike again soon, but don't know when I will see Milo and Ivan again...)
- I got to see Mike chop up a dead body with an axe. It was intense, and not how I would normally spend a Friday evening. But he kicked some serious ass and really, really raised the bar for this movie. I was so proud of him and I will always remember how every jaw dropped and how every head swiveled towards me while we watched through the monitors as he went for it with every fibre of his being. Man, my boy is acting the shit out of this movie, and everyone knows it.
- Plus? I got to see the reactions to...