On this day two years ago I had my operation to repair my belly hernia. As a bonus the surgeon agreed to remove some of the excess loose skin from my stomach (picture 1). He warned me that it wasn't going to be plastic surgery. My surgeon is a master of the understatement! I woke up after the operation and gingerly lifted up the sheet to see the state of play. One huge whopper of a scar greeted me (picture 2)! After looking at it for a while the penny dropped that perhaps my belly button was no longer present. If it was there it would have been right where the festering wound was. When my surgeon came to see me the next day I asked him if I still had a navel. No...was his matter of fact reply.
Well two years on the wound had healed nicely (picture 3). It has taken at least a year and a half for it all to settle and I be able to move that area with full comfort. I have missed the belly button. Apparently the doctor who tied it all those years ago was famous for his skill at tying the knots. My mother told me that in hospital there was a steady stream of trainee doctors, nurses and fellow colleagues who would admiringly stop over to have a Captain Cook my navel.
Yes I was proud of it....and now it is gone but not forgotten. A legacy and a victim to my gluttony and sloth but also a stark reminder never to go back to those bad old days!
Kim
