V-103's Wanda Smith, recuperating from surgery, will be back on air in August

Ryan Cameron, Wanda Smith and Jim Basile at the 11 Alive Can-A-Thon in 2014. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

Ryan Cameron, Wanda Smith and Jim Basile at the 11 Alive Can-A-Thon in 2014. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

This was posted on Thursday, July 20, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog

V-103 morning host Wanda Smith is recovering from surgery after an abscess was removed from her ovary.

She spent more than two weeks in two different hospitals but is on the road to recovery and hopes to be back on air in two to three weeks. "I feel great," she said today. "I'm doing well. I'm in no pain."

Smith said she was on her way to visit relatives in Mississippi when she started feeling pain in her stomach area. Her husband LaMorris drove her to an emergency room in Mobile, Ala. where they spent time testing her to figure out what was wrong. After an MRI, they found the abscess.

She decided to have an ambulance drive her four hours to Wellstar in Kennesaw on July 6. There, a surgeon successfully removed her abscess. She left the hospital July 16 and is now home recuperating, taking ibuprofen every six hours but not needing the Percocet.

"Doctors said there was nothing I could have done to prevent this," she said. "It just happens sometimes."

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Credit: Rodney Ho

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Credit: Rodney Ho

She said she cant' wait to get back on V-103 to talk about life and "how we women have to pay closer attention to our bodies. If you have pain, don't ignore it. Address it."

Smith said she knows she works hard and sometimes has to think about herself more instead of helping everyone else.

She felt especially emotional when a nurse at Wellstar saw her on the gurney, recognized her and effusively told her how much she loved her. "She teared up. I teared up," she said.

Smith wondered "if I had been a mean or bad person, how that lady would have felt seeing me. Instead, it was a mad blessing. She had listened to me for years. Now she's the person that took care of me every day. That was definitely a beautiful thing. At that hospital, I was overwhelmed with care and love and support. It really let me know how much God has graced upon me."

On Sunday, the veteran comic thanked fans on Instagram for an over-sized "Get Well" card from this past Saturday's V-103 Car & Bike Show, which she normally attends.

Smith was hospitalized two years ago for a painful colon infection. She was off the air for three weeks at the time to recuperate.

She is a key component of Ryan Cameron's morning show after partnering for many years with Frank Ski.