Penultimate health update (on the restful road)

2026-05-04.

In four words: pericarditis, concussion, bronchitis, simultaneously. I’ll be healthy in a month or so, it will just take some rest. Below are some details.

Status: unhealthy.

• Heart: mostly functional, pericardium swelled after viral infection (pericarditis, noticed 2026-03-26)
  • Expected symptoms: weeks of pain similar to a heart attack
  • Notes: this heart has tricuspid atresia with Fontan circulation and extracardiac shunt, pay close attention
• Brain: traumatically injured (concussion, 2026-04-20)
  • Expected symptoms: Headaches, difficulty concentrating, difficulty with cognitive tasks
  • Notes:
    • this brain is magic but also has PTSD and depression, pay close attention
    • dedicated therapist is currently unavailable, refer to general support system (family, loved ones, friends)
• Lungs: bronchi swelled after separate viral infection (bronchitis, diagnosed 2026-05-03)
  • Expected symptoms: 1-2 months of shortness of breath and dry coughing.
  • Notes:
    • see heart, Fontan circulation means both vena cavae feed directly to pulmonary artery, pay close attention
    • diagnosed in ER visit after self called 911 reporting significant difficulty breathing
    • no pulmonologist associated with these lungs, refer to primary care physician
    • issues may be related to undiagnosed seasonal allergies or undiagnosed asthma
• Other: PTSD nightmares; stress about inability to handle potential future complications; general frustration with “being dealt a series of bad hands”; worry that others, especially new coworkers, may believe self has Munchausen syndrome; worry about inability to act on major world and national events

Recommended actions:

• Followup with primary care provider (scheduled for 2026-05-06)
• Cancel sleep study to potentially diagnose sleep apnea (done)
• Meet with cardiologist (completed 2026-04-03)
• Take week off work (done)
• Transfer remaining to-do list to cloud-synced format for easy reference when on-the-go (done)
• Followup with liver doctor to ensure we don’t have a fourth organ issue (scheduled for 2026-05-09)

Other notes:

• This body is associated with a person who lives alone with a dog.
  • Ensure the dog is cared for:
    • Schedule haircut (done)
    • Schedule shots (done)
    • Ensure dog gets lots of walks (done)
  • Ensure the apartment remains clean:
    • Brush dog (pending)
    • Vacuum (done)
    • Dishes (done)
    • Laundry (done)
  • Ensure the person is cared for:
    • Buy groceries (done)
    • Cook (done)
    • When necessary, order pizza (done, gladly)
    • Reach out to loved ones (done)
    • Rest (pending)
    • Read paper books to avoid digital distractions (pending)
    • Maintain good habits (in-progress)

Yeah, I’m working on it. Truly, I’ve appreciated all the support from family, loved ones, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances. Of course, the excellent doctors and medical staff I’ve worked with have also been helpful. This is arguably the sickest I’ve ever been:

• When I was 15-16, I collapsed many times in high school over the course of several months. The issue was likely teenage stress, not taking meds consistently, and heartburn from too much pasta.
• I’ve only had covid once: it started in December 2023 and turned into post-viral fatigue (arguably long covid) that lasted until early March 2024.
• Bronchitis on its own was rough when I got it for the first time in September 2025: it lasted until early November 2025.
• And now we’re here.

This is the penultimate health update because I’m sick of blogging about this! That said, if you know me, feel free to reach out. I’m happy to text a bit with the latest news and whatnot, but I want to get back to blogging about AI, mental health, world news, and other things that aren’t a big ol’ pity party. The ultimate health update will come eventually and it will be titled “I’m finally healthy!” and it will be great. In the meantime, please trust that I am handling this with the help of my incredible support system.

And please don’t think I’ve been writhing in pain at home for the past 50 days! I wrapped up work in my old role, started my new role, cooked the cacio e pepe pictured below, merged a bugfix and a new feature, did a ton of work on Mocha, organized my Luanti notes, updated this website, played board games with friends, video games with more friends, and even went to Dave and Buster’s with my little brother the evening before my ER visit! My brother won a jackpot, and I had a blast too! I am truly out here living a life, don’t you fret, and I’ll be back living life to the fullest soon enough. But this week, I rest.

See also Blog - markwiemer.com