Well, guys, the real reason I haven't posted anything lately is that my health suddenly took a turn for the worse. You see, I have a genetic condition called sickle cell anemia, and I've been undergoing treatment since I was a child. Thank God, I've been doing better, but during Holy Week I got sick because of the crises caused by this condition. I recovered, and right after that my computer broke down. Fortunately, thanks to your support, I'll have my computer very soon—or maybe I already have it (I'm not sure)—and I'll explain that too.
You see, my condition can lead to complications like gallstones formed from bilirubin. My bilirubin levels tend to be a bit higher than normal due to the hemolysis (premature death of red blood cells) caused by my condition. Each instance of hemolysis releases bilirubin, so it accumulates in the gallbladder and can form 🪨… Anyway, recently my bilirubin levels rose so high that my skin turned yellow like a Minion. Since I don't have the money to pay for surgeries or treatments, I had to go to a public hospital. Fortunately, I'm a medical student and several people at the hospital know me, so I was able to speed up the process a bit. plus it's a bit urgent because if I wait too long, it could worsen and damage both my pancreas and my liver… but let's set that aside.
I was admitted early on to prevent the high bilirubin from causing any complications or leading to an infection. For the record, I had an ultrasound, which revealed that I had choledocholithiasis (which are stones that block the bile duct and prevent the passage of bilirubin). In my case, fortunately, there were many small stones and bile sludge that blocked the ampulla of Vater, so they don't cause too much friction with the duct, and that's why I haven't felt as much pain (although I'm still feeling some)… Tomorrow for me, I don't know about you. Since it's Thursday, they're going to perform an ERCP to break up the blockage in my bile ducts and clear the ampulla of Vater. If everything goes well (God willing), they'll do the surgery to remove my gallbladder—a cholecystectomy—on the same day, and then I'll have to stay in recovery.
So I'm not sure when I'll be able to post a new chapter. To be honest, I could have written a chapter last week, but I was feeling a bit down, on top of the other symptoms caused by choledocholithiasis. So, I'm going to wait until I've recovered enough before I start writing again, and who knows—by the time I get home, maybe my new computer will already be here. So yeah… let's hope everything goes well, and thanks to everyone for your support on both Patreon and Webnovel. See you next time, everyone—I love you all very much.
PDT: I don't usually share this kind of thing, but I think you deserve an explanation given all the support you've given me.