It's now been greater than two years since my wife was afflicted by bad health. It's not been one event, it's been an ongoing unfolding of calamity. First the ulcerative colitis (UC) flare, started new immune suppressant. When it failed, she opted to go for the surgery which is a cure for about 99% of UC sufferers. But she was in the 1% who still had some residual disease. "Cuffitis" is what it's called. The last few centimeters of the colon have to be spared to create the surgical connection after the colon is removed, and in a few people this area still has some inflammation. "But its usually easily controlled with occasional medications." Not so with Vanessa. Very resistant. Required further surgery to strip away the layer of mucosa. Then this caused scarring that created a severe narrowing. Which required another surgery. Then required manual dilations which were excruciating. There was a degree of pain that persisted beyond the typical post-op