Very happy to hear that you are doing better! I have to say that this down period produced some great comedy content in the forums and on Discord. It was pretty entertaining to watch and participate.
Jokes aside though, I don't think that a one man show can support such a project where a lot of people are investing their money in. I understand that everyone has their expertise, but I think that It is important to have a fallback mechanism. Since you are two main developers, I believe that Pandemic should also know how to patch the updater in case of need. Sure it might not be his expertise but he should have the knowledge or at least an overview of what he is supposed to do so that he can accomplish it in case of need. Even if it would take him two or three times the amount of time that you would need to update it yourself.
That would be my suggestion and I think that most people would be satisfied and pleased to know that if something were to happen to you, then there is already a fallback plan of someone who could continue this project.
I wish great health to everyone! ✌🏻