They did it, they FINALLY did it! After 14 months of horribleness, 9 different doctors, a bajillion tests and a ton of useless meds and a million hours spent googling symptoms and reading medical research, we FINALLY know what’s wrong with me!
FINALLY!
FIIIINALLYYYYY!
Did I say that too many times?😆
AAAH! I can’t help it, I’m so freakin relieved to FINALLY know why my body has been waging war on me this last year and a bit!
Downside? Treatment will make me worse, so I’ll be even less on social media than I have been lately and the next 3 months will be HELL. But… BUT!!! After 3 months I should FINALLY be better. FINALLY!
FINALLY!
So… 2022 better watch out as I’ll FINALLY be kicking some serious ass while ensuring I’ll never ever ever get any kind of sick ever again.
Okay I’m done with the finallys now. I think. Maybe.
Yes I am. Moving on to the mush (yes, I know, you’re all mostly interested in WHEN THE EFFING F I’ll get to the book 3 update, so I won’t ramble too long. Just a little. A teeny, tiny bit. Okay? Okay.)
I just wanted to take a moment and say a HUGE thanks to all my readers! Thank you all so much for your patience while I’ve battled my insides. Thank you for not rushing me or being demanding or angry or sending me hate mail! Instead, I’ve gotten SO many messages asking me how I’m doing, wishing me a quick recovery, and just sweet messages/posts/comments of support, and let me tell you, it’s been SO SO appreciated!
I mean, lying in a feral ball on the floor is no fun. Having the full alphabet’s worth of vitamin deficiencies because your body isn’t able to digest food properly anymore is pretty hellish (who knew all those vitamins were so very necessary to function? I mean, I knew anemia was bad, but who the hell knew a lack of B12 could be so dangerous or that missing A, E, and K vitamins could have so many consequences?). And the constant pain isn’t exactly a walk in the park either. But all the love and support from my readers has really lifted me up and helped me keep going. So…
THANK YOU ❤ ❤ ❤ You really are the very best readers a girl could ask for❤
(for those curious, my final diagnosis is at the bottom of this long, long, looong update).
The Writing and Scribbling and Floor Dwelling Notes
You’re all probably thinking the same thing: “But Erica, if you’ve been sick for that long and have spent most of your time curled up in a ball on the floor, when the DUCK will I get book 3???”
AAH I don’t know! Besides having a vague sort of plan that depends entirely on my health, I have no idea! But even though most of my days have been hell, I have had good days too. But before we go into that, first let’s talk about the floor dwelling and the scribbles.
You probably didn’t know that I am a creature that gets bored so fast, if it were an Olympic sport I’d be a 10 times gold medallist. So of course, when I was stuck on the floor, unable to get to my desktop or use my laptop while curlballing it, I started taking notes. And more notes. And even more notes. Remember the spinoff? The one I shared the first scene of in my newsletter? Well, that was born in my notes. When I felt too sick to get off the floor but functional enough that my brain was still engaged, I would jot down scenes and ideas and plots, and then once a week (if I wasn’t floor-dwelling), I’d go on the computer and try to make sense of said notes. So… because of this, I’ve made decent progress on the first draft of this thing, which means after book 3 is released, you’ll have the spinoff probably within 6 months. YAY!
(did you yay? Or did you roll your eyes and go I don’t CARE about the freakin spin-off, I ONLY care about book 3 dammit! – AAAH okay, okay! Book 3 news below! But really, I’m 99% sure you’ll desperately want the spin-off when you know who it’ll feature)
Book 3
(finally, right? THIS, THIS is why you’re here, not to listen to my rambles or hear about the imminent spin-off. I can FEEL your impatience from here. Truly, I’m all goosebump-y and wide-eyed and—fine, fine, I’ll shut up and get to it).
So, book 3. I’ve made progress, but it’s slow. It’s very slow. I can’t edit on the floor, and having had so few computer days (and so few hours on the days I’ve managed to get on it) has really hampered my progress. Sure, I’ve done floor notes and stuff, but when the end result is not supposed to be a messy first draft but a polished last draft, it’s not super helpful. That being said, slow progress is still progress, and once I’m finally rid of these stomach invaders, I’ll be back to editing 12 hours a day until this thing is DONE!
Bright side of all this floor dwelling? I’ve had A LOT of time to think. And when I think, I plot. Not just new books (which I have TOO many of in my head) but sidestories. Hope and the guys have SO many hilarious little sidestories going on in my brain, and once book 3 is done, I’m planning on sitting down and writing a couple of them, just so that you won’t have to say goodbye to these characters when you’re done reading their books.
AND more bright sides… I’ve read a ton of craft books and watched a ton of video courses on writing while I’ve been floor dwelling, which has made my first draft (what I have so far) of this spinoff a lot cleaner than my older first drafts. This means WAY less editing time in the future and faster releases! Unless I just jinxed myself, in which case… I TAKE IT BACK!
So yes. Thank you for coming to my ramble. If you made it all the way, you really do deserve a badge. I’m not sure if it should be a stalker badge, a super-reader badge, or just a “Birch Please” badge, but I’m going to make one, just see if I don’t!
End Note: For those curious about the diagnosis
Still here, huh? Either you’re as crazy about ramblings as I am, or your’re morbidly curious (have I ever mention that’s a flaw of mine?) Either way, here we go:
So apparently, I’ve gone and gotten myself a mix of things, and it all started with the mono I had in September last year (both the virus AND the meds I got for battling it damaged my stomach). Doctor thinks this (as well as my previously under-treated hashimotos) lead to the perfect environment for SIBO to develop (it didn’t help that I was misdiagnosed several times and put on medication that practically invites SIBO in), which in turn made Candida join the fun, which again lead to dysbiosis, malnutrition, vitamin deficiencies, enzyme issues (did you know the liver and gallbladder actually has digestive functions? Well, I didn’t!) as well as some other fun stomach conditions that I’m told should reverse once the SIBO and Candida has been eradicated.
(The evil little things better die off fast!)
But something good did come out of this whole nightmare though… I got new meds for my hashimotos and AAAH everything changed! For the first time in 12 years, my brain isn’t struggling to see through fog, and it’s amazing! I may have cried. But just a little (no need to check the cameras left behind by a few of my more zealous readers, I’m telling the truth, dammit!)
So… All in all, I’m pretty sure 2022 will be my year. It kinda has to. The universe owes me😆 And once I’ve kicked SIBO and Candida and all the other asses, me and my newly freed brain will conquer all the plotting and writing and the mess Past Erica always so delightfully leaves me to edit.