On November 11 2011, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim launched worldwide to critical acclaim.

It was also at this same time that I had surgery on my spine to correct a severe slipped disc. During my six-week recovery, Skyrim helped stop me from going stir-crazy as I lay in my bed, unable to leave my apartment. Skyrim became my go-to game and I have very fond memories of my daily adventures.

Before I continue with my own personal Skyrim story, let me take a moment to let everyone know that we’re eager to hear from you. We know that Skyrim generated many memories for a great deal of players across the world, and with the launch of Skyrim Special Edition on the horizon we want to hear your Skyrim memories – they can be your greatest in-game memory, or anything relating to Skyrim in any way. We’ll keep a close eye on what you share with us and we’ll pick one and turn it into an animated video created by Lee Hardcastle. Yes, the Lee Hardcastle who made that awesome DOOM Clay Cat video. So, what are you waiting for? Get on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram and use the hashtag #SkyrimMemories to share your greatest Skyrim memory.

And now back to my own Skyrim memory… I had joined Bethesda Softworks in 2009 and seen a great deal of change in my first few years (Arkane Studios, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks and id Software had all joined the family of studios; in addition, we had opened publishing offices in Paris, Frankfurt and Eindhoven). But Skyrim was the first Bethesda Game Studios game that I had the privilege to work on from announce through to launch.

It was one hell of a year. Skyrim was just one of four big titles Bethesda released in the same year. We had a major press event in Utah in April, had a huge E3 in June, and a very busy Gamescom in August. On a personal side I ran my first (and possibly last) London marathon in April, got married in August and was looking forward to our honeymoon in late December. But disaster struck around September. I had experienced some pain in my left leg and after a visit to the doctor it looked like it might be related to my back. A specialist confirmed my worst fears: I was diagnosed with a slipped disc. I could either wait it out to see if the disc retracted (unlikely given the severity of the slippage), or take the surgery option. With eight weeks to go until our honeymoon I decided to have an operation in the hope that I would be well enough to board a 24-hour flight to Australia and actually be able to enjoy our honeymoon.

The recovery plan was very basic: lie on my back all day for six weeks and don’t move too much. While this might have been upsetting news to most, as a lifelong gamer this was a golden opportunity. My co-workers sent me a copy of Skyrim in the mail (after jokingly sending me the wrong game first – much to my chagrin), and I set about planning each day around where I was going to explore and what missions I was going to complete. By the end of my recovery period I had achieved a 1000-point gamer score, was no longer using fast-travel so I could have the ultimate immersion experience, and felt like I knew the map like the back of my hand. It was the best time, in the worst of circumstances.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim helped me recover from surgery, and gave me my fist 1k gamer score in the process. Not only is it one of my all-time favorite games, but it also made a six-week recovery process relatively painless. That’s my Skyrim memory. What’s yours? We look forward to hearing from all of you on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. (Remember to use the hashtag #SkyrimMemories!)