Illness
Illness
[Randall, depicted as Cueball, is standing beneath all of this text. The last heart is much bigger than the text and comes directly from the Cueball figure.] Randall: Hey, everyone- Randall: As I mentioned on the blag, I'm going through a rough time right now. I'm dealing with a serious family illness and it's become pretty overwhelming. Randall: We're still getting a handle on everything, and I appreciate your patience while we figure it all out. Randall: Thank you to everyone who wrote in with kind wishes and words of support. They've been passed on and meant a lot. Randall: I like drawing, and might find time for it in the coming weeks, but I'm not going to push myself to stick to a schedule. Randall: However, between my stacks of notebooks, scanner, and supportive sysadmin, I should at least have something interesting to share with you in this space each M/W/F. Randall: ♡

This is the first comic about Randall 's fiancée's (now wife) cancer .
It is self-explanatory, although vague on specifics.
More details and related comics are on the Category:Cancer page.
In the comic Randall mentions that he might not be able to (or interested in) sticking to the normal schedule. But he did manage to do that anyway. However, this comic was posted on a Friday, and the next week there were the 5 minute comics, and already the week after the next, xkcd was overtaken by guests during the Guest Week . Maybe this was his online comic colleagues who gave him a helping hand?
The title text asks for readers to send him distracting games to play, then was edited to show his appreciation for the number of them sent in.
[Randall, depicted as Cueball, is standing beneath all of this text. The last heart is much bigger than the text and comes directly from the Cueball figure.] Randall: Hey, everyone- Randall: As I mentioned on the blag, I'm going through a rough time right now. I'm dealing with a serious family illness and it's become pretty overwhelming. Randall: We're still getting a handle on everything, and I appreciate your patience while we figure it all out. Randall: Thank you to everyone who wrote in with kind wishes and words of support. They've been passed on and meant a lot. Randall: I like drawing, and might find time for it in the coming weeks, but I'm not going to push myself to stick to a schedule. Randall: However, between my stacks of notebooks, scanner, and supportive sysadmin, I should at least have something interesting to share with you in this space each M/W/F. Randall: ♡
