Ex-Chimaira drummer Andols Herrick's name recently came up in the news when it was revealed that he'd been suffering from some mystery illness. Herrick hadn't said anything up until now regarding his health, though his father did make some comments shedding a little light on the situation.
Now for the first time, Herrick himself is giving an update on his health, and he seems at least fairly optimistic about the situation. if you haven't checked out and donated to his GoFundMe for his medical bills, we suggest you do so here.
“I’m long overdue with respect to commenting on the GoFundMe campaign, my current status, and all associated thoughts/feelings/reasons. I had originally presumed the campaign had a set time frame, like 7 to 10 days, and was going to say everything after. However, since it doesn’t work that way and it will continue to exist indefinitely, then today it shall be.
First and foremost, I am overwhelmed by the response and contributions, so thank you to everyone who has participated/shared the link/cares that I exist in the first place, and there are numerous individual thank-yous in order as well. When masterminds Tim Herrick and Dick Herrick suggested doing this, it did make me feel uneasy. But considering my reality, and remembering “Well, it’s not like GoFundMe is the IRS, where non-participation is ultimately met with a gun in your face or being thrown in a cage. It’s entirely voluntary, and if the worst case scenario is no one choosing to donate, then no harm/no foul.”
There’s a lot of factors involved; personal, emotional, physiological and pathophysiological that has resulted in an increasingly complex situation as time goes on. I’m actually rather confident I know what the root is, and if I’m correct I was always a 2-week antibiotic combo away from either the possibility of feeling significantly better, or at least ruling out another possibility.. Some MDs tend to focus on managing symptoms rather than determine the root cause. When those symptoms are notoriously difficult to manage, they can take a toll.
Now, even taking care of the original root cause, I’m still left with secondary and tertiary affects that must also be tended to as well. The end result is an emaciated, chronically fatigued version of yours truly with a quality of life on par with far more serious/terminal diseases cause. I haven’t had a waking moment without moderate to severe discomfort since September 13th (yes, I remember the exact date I last felt normal), though I have to go back to June and prior for when “normal me” was a thing.
My most recent diagnostic test resulted in more questions than any new answers, but even with that outcome it still points in a direction yet to be explored. Regardless, I will continue moving forward. I’ve been somewhat of a itinerant soul, so where exactly I’m going or for what purpose is still unsettled. The only two things I’m certain of?
1: This albatross is not welcome for the journey.
2: In some context, drumsticks and kick pedals will be making contact with their targets, and it will be definitely be = or > awesome.I’ll end this properly, with some Hatebreed lyrics.
“You can’t accept what you’ve been told
Anchored in sin you must reverse your descent
Declare the weight of the world has yet to claim you
And admit that your faults will not restrain you
Glimpses of fate bring light to your despair
Realise hope isn’t short of your grasp
Resurrect every dream that you’ve buried alive
And never succumb to the war that you fight in your heart”With infinite gratitude and appreciation,
Andols“
