This weekend, I came to Ohio to join many members of my South Park family for yet another South Park Convention - and in one fleeting moment - realized just how important they all are to me - because we almost lost one of us this morning.

This morning, I woke up to the news that George, one of the original members of our South Park family and the one who brought us all together the first time, had wound up in the hospital with congenital heart failure. Apparently, George had not taken his prescribed medication and as a result - had fluid develop in his lungs that rendered him unable to breathe. The doctor informed me that if Bob did not get him to the hospital when he did - that he may not be with us today.

I just got back from visiting George at the hospital. When I saw him in the hospital bed, it was very hard to keep it together. Seeing him with all of those tubes and machines in him gave me not only an eerie flashback to the last time I was in a bed like that - it also made me very upset to see such a dear friend in such dire straits.

Despite the fact that he is sixty-four years old - George has more energy then some four-year-olds I know. He is always the life of the party and always makes those around him have a lot of fun. I remember the first time I met him at the first South Park Convention. After only five minutes - I felt like I knew him forever. And each time I have seen them since then - our friendship has gotten stronger and stronger.

And there he was, sedated, strapped to a bed - and unable to speak. At one point, I actually had to leave the room because I didn't want to cry in front of him. He means so much to me and to know that we could have lost him today was not easy to deal with. Losing George would be like losing a member of my family - and I am very thankful to that we only lost him for a few days instead of the rest of our lives.

If I could tell George anything, I would tell him that I love him very much and that I hope this is a wakeup call for him to take his medication. I would let him know that he has hundreds of extended family members that would have a hard time living without him if something would have happened to him. I would inform him that when he is better - he has a VIP invitation to come to New York and make up for the time we lost this weekend - and I would let him know that he has been and always will be a member of my family - and someone I want to be around for a very long time.