Day 3,967 —Life without a Bellybutton—

 

I have been dealing with a bacterial infection in my bellybutton since August last year. I initially took antibiotics and my general practitioner never acted like it was that big of a deal, just odd. It is normal for people who are overweight, have bellybutton rings, or women after pregnancy to have these types of issues, but not someone like me. I think ultimately, how much I run has a huge impact because of the rubbing on my clothes and how I will wear a wet shirt for hours.

I went to a general surgeon yesterday who seemed mad at me for how odd this was, and she immediately suggested the possibility that she would need to remove my belly button.

I don’t think I am there yet and there are other things I can do, but I cannot say I didn’t find it upsetting to imagine how odd that would feel to not have a bellybutton, and I keep thinking how this is going to affect my running, but there is nothing I can do about any of that.