Day 3,996 —But do I still have a Bellybutton, or not? —

 

I talked to the surgeon right before they took me back. She explained that she was planning to cut into the area of my belly button like a triangle to provide enough room to cut the infection out. However, she said that it was possible she still might need to sew up my belly button like she previously mentioned was a possibility. She framed it like, “Would it really be the end of the world if you didn’t have a belly button?”

         She didn’t say that exactly, but that’s what I heard. I explained it wouldn’t if that’s what she felt was the safe thing to do not to risk continued infection, or if there was no other way to remove the infection safely.

         Everyone had told me that I should be awake during the procedure. They described it like I would still be able to tell what was happening, but it would almost be like a dream.

They started carting me back, and I remembered shots from the movie All That Jazz. It is weird having people pushing you in a stretcher as you lay supine watching the ceiling.

I made sure to greet everyone who was going to be in the operating room with me with a friendly, “it is a pleasure to meet you.”

         I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I wasn’t scared, just apprehensive, and when we reached the operating room, I passed out.

I wasn’t supposed to be asleep, so I don’t know what happened. The next thing I remember is my nurse talking to me in the room and Sarah being there.

The nurse didn’t have a lot of information for me about the surgery, but she told me she thought the surgeon had talked to me after the operation. I was hungry, but I also wanted to know if I still had a belly button or not.

Then that nurse left and went to lunch, and the other nurse appeared and helped take me out in a wheelchair to Sarah, who was waiting for me in her car.

We went to the Foundry, and I felt okay for the most part, but I just wanted to know what happened and what to expect.

I kept rereading my exit report, and there just wasn’t a lot of information. I called the office when I got home, and they told me to e-mail the doctor on MyChart, so I did.

I never heard back from her, but I did get some missed calls from unknown numbers, so it is possible she tried to call, but my phone doesn’t ring unless the number is in my phone book.

The directions said I could wash the wound in the shower the next day, so I figured after I ran today, I would find out if I had a belly button or not.

A big portion of my stomach was covered with a bandage, so I had no idea what it looked like.

During my run, it hurt for my stomach to move, but it wasn’t the kind of pain I figured would cause more injury, so I kept moving. I decided three miles was a good amount to do today. I felt good enough to do more, but I wanted my stomach to heal, and right then, I didn’t know what I was dealing with.

I checked my phone, and I had still not heard from my doctor, so I started taking the bandage off before I got in the shower, and—

--I was in the clear, I still had a belly button! And the stitches were barely noticeable now.

I am still not sure how optimistic I should be, but maybe it worked?