I can’t believe it, but four months have passed since I had surgery to fix an umbilical hernia. It’s been two months since I provided an update, but it looks like Episode 7 is the final chapter. Thank Goodness!

It’s been a long two months as I’ve slogged through recovering from surgery to repair an umbilical hernia! The doctor and nurses I was working with were incredibly kind and helpful, but I couldn’t wait until I didn’t have to see them anymore. Well, ask and you shall receive: I’m not fully healed yet, but it turns out that my fifth appointment at the wound care clinic was my last.

I’ve written about having surgery for an umbilical hernia four times over the past fifty-two days. I’ve discussed the bizarre reason an operation was necessary in the first place, the surgery itself, the unexpected tenacity of my belly button, and -finally- some much-needed good news. Here’s another update.

Hernia repair surgery is a pretty minor “major” operation. Mine went fine, and recovery started off on the right foot until my incision came apart days before my staples were to be removed. At first, I was left with an open wound the size of a half dollar. Now it’s the size of a tennis ball, but that’s a good thing! Let me explain.

I grew attached to my belly button over the past thirty-two years. I’m shocked to announce that it seems to have felt the same way about me! Three weeks after I had surgery to remove her, Ol’ One-Eyed Mabel came back. She’s really kicking up a ruckus!

I would never have guessed that an offhand suggestion to foster a tortoise could lead to losing my belly button, but that’s the insane scenario I find myself in after my “umbilectomy with hernia repair” last Friday. I provided some background and color the morning of the procedure, so here’s the follow-up.