Greetings everyone,

I apologize, again, for seemingly taking a sebatical after my previous update. However, that is not the case. I had been ill over many months of 2025, and I had colon surgery November 7, 2025. I am feeling better after that, but it was an emotionally harrowing experience.. I have Specific Antibody Deficiency (Low IgG), more than likely caused by sepsis/post-sepsis Syndrome. So when I had a partial colon resection, I nearly lost my good sense because I was afraid infection might set in. I needed to have it done and I went through so many different emotions thinking I might get an infection. Well, it did not happen and I am so relieved and grateful. And now that the bad part of the colon which caused the sepsis is gone, I feel like I can rest a little easier.

As for the surgery itself, it was done laparascopically and easier to deal with. Including the day of surgery, I spent nearly five days in the hospital, and then came home to rest. I panicked the day after I got home, realizing I had this surgery and no medical personnel nearby. I ended up in the emergency room with symptoms of nothing. I also refused IV fluids and got nuts when I thought they would attach me to a bag. I had had all I could take at that point. It was not solely about the surgery and the hospital stay, but all I had been through, especially with IVIG infusions each month that take like 3-1/2 hours each time, plus so many times in the ED and with hospital admission over the previous 10 years, and HR at my employer is ruthless, heartless and cold. I don’t care if they see this either.

Anyway, upon this ED visit, they just added an IV line (I guess it’s called) so they could add a bag of fluids if I was going to be admitted. But they found ntohing wrong with me. I guess it was nerves and uncertainty. By the time I spent many hours in the ED, I decided to not panic again unless absolutely necessary and it’s also the day I realized that I really did not need a lot of pain meds. Afterwards thought, t6he healing process was hit and miss, and a learning experience: what to eat, what not to eat, runny stuff, constipation, very hungry, not hungry at all, pain, no pain, and where are my friends and family in my time of need? If it were not for my 90 year old mother, I would have been left to suffer alone. I don’t know what I would have done without her for at least the first 2-3 weeks of recovery.

So here I am, reaching February 7th, which will mark three months after the surgery and I am doing okay with only minor complaints. Sometimes I bring stuff on myself by doing too much and forgetting I had surgery, despite it being laparoscopic, and might try to lift something too heavy, or just move in the wrong way and cause a pain or bad feeling. I had to recognize when my body is saying its had enough. I have to remember that I do have a small abdominal incision as well. Plus, I suffer from diastatis recti which is probably hereditary and I have a small pre-existing umbilical hernia. So I have to remember to be careful.

I have not been able to get back to the health center for my Zumba class or the track, mostly because I did not feel ready, and with it being cold and flu season, I did not always feel safe due my immune deficiency. And, I should not fail to mention the weather. I am in the Chicagoland area and it has sucked pretty much since around Thanksgiving. Between the cold, snow, Specific Antibody Deficiency and healing from a colon resection, I was edgy, wrestless and bored a lot, but just had to wait it out. I think next week we’ll have better temperatures.

Since August 2025, I’ve been querying literary agents for the completed Storm Dwellers. And, I have completed two more rounds of editing and word elimination for the previously self-published Someday Always Comes. I was going to hire an editor for Someday but then the surgery happened and set me back. I am Working on Chicago Down and I have a deadline for myself to complete the first full draft by June. Can I do it? I don’t know. But one thing I do know is if it is not completed, I will celebrate the try and be happy with what I do complete as long as it is more than I have currently.

Thanks for reading.

Wanda