On Monday night I received a call from Jason Torchinsky’s wife, Sally, who informed me that Jason had suffered what seemed at the time like early stages of a heart attack. With intense chest and stomach pain, Jason had to be take in an ambulance to the local hospital, where he underwent surgery for a tear in his aorta. The Taillight-King is currently recovering, and seems in good spirits.
I’m gonna keep this blog short, because there’s a lot rushing through my mind at the moment. Jason Torchinsky is, of course, way, way more than my coworker, he’s one of my closest friends and a titan in the automotive media world who has made cars fun and approachable in ways that nobody has ever done before. Squid cars? Ham bumpers? Sushi taillights? An entire world themed around taillight gangs? I could go on and on. Jason is the soul of The Autopian, just as he was the soul of the German Lighting Site, but more than that, he’s an amazing, one-of-one human being with an awesome wife, Sally, and fantastic son, Otto. Which is why I’m so glad to hear that Jason is recovering well after surgery.
What happened is something called “Aortic dissection.” Here’s a little primer on this rather serious condition via St. Clair Hospital’s website:
An aortic dissection is a medical emergency. In this condition, a tear occurs in the inner layer of the large blood vessel branching off the heart. This blood vessel is called the aorta. Aortic dissection is most common in men in their 60s and 70s.Symptoms include sudden, severe chest pain that spreads to the neck or down the back and sudden stomach pain. Other symptoms include loss of consciousness, shortness of breath, and stroke symptoms such as trouble seeing, speaking or moving. Treatment includes surgery to fix the aorta and medicines, such as beta blockers.
He’ll be back here blogging crazy taillight blogs before you know it, but until then, he’ll take a nice, long, well-deserved and much-needed break.
We love you, Torch. Get well soon so we can fix your Beetle’s engine. And your F-150’s flywheel. And your Pao’s hood. And the Tiguan’s…Volkswagen-iness. And your RV’s…everything. Actually, forget I mentioned those — you don’t need that stress in your life. Just relax and enjoy the holiday season.
UPDATE: You can support Jason HERE.
Godspeed Taillight Monarch!
Wow, glad he is okay, and awesome photo where he happens to be wearing a beetle shirt. lol.
It also appears like the EMT is reading the Torch window sticker. “No, he has the regular aorta; he doesn’t have the heavy duty towing package.”
Wow! Talk about unexpected (but this sort of thing almost always is, by definition).
Best wishes to Jason for a quick and easy recovery, and to his family too.
I have only one rule in life: no dying. Glad to hear Torch didn’t break it! Rest up, relish the holiday season a little more deeply this year, and we look forward to hearing from you again when you’re ready.
If Torch wants a short term project while he recovers, he can do a design critique of all the blinking lights on the medical devices keeping his body alive until he can turn himself into a cyborg of Commodore64 and Altair 8800 parts. Maybe he can dial in his heart rate with one of those Pong paddles.
Get healthy! The world needs its weirdness exposed!
I will never neglect my aortas again. Seriously though, rest up Torch and feel better soon!
Every time I admire a tail light, I think of you. Thanks for the focus, and get well soon. Peace and strength!
Get well soon Torch!
Good lord. Heal quick, Torch!
Geez I hate hearing stuff like this. Hope you’re ok Torch get well soon!
Take care of your self and get well soon, Torch!
Man out of nowhere. Take care of yourself!
Btw is this what it takes to get David Tracy away from his cats and on the site? He has been particularly productive lately..
Get well soon Torch. Thank you Sally. Otto, you are probably pretty freaked out right now. I wish you the best in processing this.
Holy crap! So glad you’re okay, Torch.
Love,
OPPO
Torch, the place ain’t the same without you. Hope you’re back to full speed soon. Can’t wait to read about it in your upcoming epic, “Jason and the Aorta Knots.” Sorry for the bad pun, short notice and I’m bit verklempt right now.
So glad to hear he’s recovering well, as an aortic anything is serious.
I’m pretty sure this is some kind of deer conspiracy.
Get well Jason and listen to the doctors and your body.
We all need you and the eccentric steering you provide.
You never know what you have until you almost don’t or no longer have it. Get well at your own speed Torch and thank you for making my nights (brake) lighter.
Oh man, I’m so glad to hear you’re on the mend and taking it easy.
That’s a hell of a way to score a ride in a vehicle that’s more reliable than anything in your fleet, Jason
Goddamnit.
Here’s the thing. I never respond to articles, social media posts, etc. when someone well-known has a health emergency/death. There’s tons of supportive posts and my additional comment isn’t gonna make a lick of difference. Perhaps that’s bleak, I dunno. I’ll ask my therapist.
That said…
Jason, please don’t scare us like this. I don’t want to say we need you because we’re totally not a group of co-dependent people. But, you have a left a Jason-sized imprint on all of us and we really fucking like having you around. I sincerely hope you have a full and quick recovery. My thoughts are with you and your family. Take care, man.
Oof this brought memories of losing Kotaku’s Mike Fahey to the same condition. I’m really glad that Torch is on his way back to cataloguing all the taillights in creation.
Don’t forget Drew Magary getting basically the same thing, but in his brain
All power to your aorta Torch. Your writing is a thing of joy, I look forward to more illumination, but only when you’re good and ready.
Get well soon Torch. Our world is a better place with you in it.
Torch: Take your time and heal. We’ll still be here when you get back. In the meantime, best wishes to you for a speedy recovery and to Sally and Otto who have to deal with you. We will miss you until your return.
Get well soon. All fingers crossed for it.