My usual routine around here as an Ozark Nature Artist with many things I want to do came to a screeching halt a few days ago. I’ve been working hard to get my studio finishing done, the fall garden planted, etc. But there sometimes comes a time when life demands a break. So now I’m taking it. Now I face the torture of ‘not’ get things done. The good thing is that my break should only last another day or two.
Before hitting the brakes, I got all of the wall insulation finished and had hung the first ceiling strip. It was ready to go for the next morning. It’ll hang there until I get back to it in a few days.
What Happened?
On Tuesday I woke up with a bellyache. Sounds minor, I know. That’s what I thought too. Except I really don’t get bellyaches, so it was odd. With it came extreme bloating, fatigue and I slept all day that day for two reasons. One, because lying on my back was more comfortable. Two, because I was too tired to do much else.
No fever, blood pressure alright except a little low to a little high at times, and my heartrate was concerningly high. I was mystified and just decided to go with sleeping.
Slept all day, didn’t eat much because I wasn’t hungry much. Yogurt that morning and chicken noodle soup that evening. Slept all night, too.
I expected whatever it was would be cleared by the next morning and I’d head off to the office for floor day. I was wrong. And I began to suspect that something I had done Monday evening had caused me to get a hernia.
The Triggering Incident?
Monday evening I went out to check to see if the horses still had water holes in the creek. It’s a short hike over a lot of loose rocks and shale. I did misstep when I slipped on loose rocks. But I didn’t hit the ground. No, somehow I did some fancy maneuvers that landed me on all fours… like a cat. I felt pretty smug about that at the time, but figured I’d pay for it with sore muscles later.
By the next morning, payment had begun. I thought maybe I had a hernia. Or maybe I strained some ligaments holding my guts in place when I landed like that. Whew knew?
That was Tuesday. By Wednesday morning I sure hoped my doc would know if it were just soreness or an actual problem that needed more than rest for remedy. So Rob readied the truck and I rode shotgun with a pillow clutched to my stomach to try and cushion every. little. bump. on that terribly bumpy dirt road all the way to the pavement.
Ask the Experts
Doc said not a hernia. But sounds like appendicitis or a fracture on T11. Get to ER for a CT scan pronto. Great. So we did get there sort of pronto, but anyone who’s ever walked into an emergency room can figure out how the rest of that day went. My triage assessment placed me fairly low on the ‘need’ ladder, and I knew that going in. Which is why I went to doc – to avoid ER.
Turned out that neither of us had guessed correctly. The CT showed acute diverticulitis, something I have never encountered before and never want to see again. They all say the near fall and fancy footwork had nothing to do with it. Just a coincidence, I guess.
But I should feel better soon and will get back to my task list whenever I feel like it. Better than having surgery for either appendix or hernia!
That’s my adventure for the week. I hope y’all are having a better one than that!
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Author/Artist Info
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In the summer of 2018 I began making watercolor paints from the rocks, clay, and other resources of our land here in the Ozarks. In 2023 I began experimenting with the same pigments in oils. I call them Wild Ozark Paleo Paints, because they’re made in a way very close to the same way paints were made when man (or woman) first put a hand-print on the wall of a cave. I use very small amounts of outsourced pigment for blue, white, and sometimes yellow to offer a greater range of hues built upon the earthy local pigments. My specialty is painting nature, specifically the nature that surrounds me here in the remote hills of northwest Arkansas.
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Madison Woods
@wildozark (Instagram, Twitter, Threads and FB)
madison@wildozark.com
Want to join me for workshops or see my art?
Coming soon! I have a new Studio in the Works 🙂
The building is here and I’m finishing out the interior. I hope to begin offering classes/workshops by the end of September 2026 and host Open Studio days regularly right here at Wild Ozark, where the possibilities for nature experiences (including nature art) run rampant.
The best way to stay informed is to sign up for my newsletter and check off the box ‘Studio News’ (or whatever is closest to that description). I’m updating there as I meet the goalposts and will announce anything planned as soon as I get firm dates.
