http://io9.gizmodo.com/preacher-co-crea ... 1788102990

Only 54. Goddammit. To Hell.

Man that sucks. Loved his work

RIP.

Way too young. RIP.

Really stunned. Two untimely deaths of irreplaceable artists this year.

RIP

Oh no, that's horrible.

Very very sad

Bump for Preacher fans. *sigh*

RIP. He was far and above my favorite artist. I was shocked when I read this. He was so young.

We had a local sports writer die two days prior, also in his 50's. I am not making connections, but the reports so close together we jarring.

I first saw his work in the mid-80s, when the Abslom Daak, Dalek Killer story ran in Marvel's Doctor Who series that reprinted strips from DWM.

I just now discovered that Steve did a cover for an 11th Doctor story featuring Daak that came out this summer.

Wow. That is beautiful!

The family has asked that instead of flowers, that donation be made to Hero Initiative. This is as good a time as any to do that.

http://heroinitiative.org/be-the-hero/

Cause of death was a frickin' burst appendix. Goddammit. Guys, don't be a hero. You feel like shit, can't poop, have gut pain, don't wait! Go to the urgent care or the ER or the doc ASAP! It may be nothing, but I would rather you made the trip for nothing than for me to have to say nice things about you after you're dead. (I waited for a week, but I was only 12. And it ruptured almost as soon as I got to the hospital.)

Holy shit, really? Even more tragic as it was totally avoidable.

Yeah, and then .

Apparently he thought it was food poisoning. That was the reason for the delay in treatment.
Such a shame.

Man. That is even worse. Makes it even more tragic.

A friend of mine was on his honeymoon in Ireland when he got sick. He tried to macho it out and ended up in an Irish hospital in a nice coma with a trach tube. He survived, just. Not too long ago another friend did the same thing, except without the honeymoon and Ireland. I think he also managed to avoid the trach tube. Recovery is measured in months instead of weeks when you let it go that far. If it even goes that far. Goddammit.

How can you tell the difference between bad stomach pain from food poisoning or gas and appendix problems?

Typically, appendicitis symptoms are:
extreme pain in the lower right quadrant of the abdomen
fever
chills
nausea and vomiting
profuse sweating
flushing of the face and skin
But sometimes the pain from appendicitis might be in a different location. You may have cramps in the middle of your abdomen instead of the right side.
Pretty much the same as a bad case of food poisoning.
And then again the person may not have the typical textbook symptoms. I had a coworker that just felt tired, and had a dull ache in the middle of their stomach. They thought it might have been a pulled muscle or a virus. A couple of days passed before the symptoms got serious, and when they finally went to the dr's office the appendix was ready to pop.
Sometimes it can be hard to tell without an exam and tests.

One big clue is the inability to stand upright. You walk stooped over. Constipation, which usually doesn't happen with food poisoning, along with vomiting is another big clue. It could also be diverticulitis, but that is serious, too and needs to be taken care of.

My symptoms were constipation, very low grade fever, vomiting (only when trying to eat) and general abdominal pain. Basically, I felt terrible, but tried to ignore it.

Appendicitis runs in my family. The stoop is often the first clue that it is more than a stomach bug. I had it, all of my male cousins and my youngest brother. One of my grandmother's brothers on the other side of the family died at age 11. I was 12, my brother was 15 or 16 and my cousins were all in their teens.