It all Began…

About a year ago, I was having pain in my belly button. It was inevitable that every time one of my children (typically Graham) sat by me on the couch, they would put their bony little elbow right on my stomach and cause pain. I talked to my primary care physician about it and he said that because I am overweight, that the bulging pain was most likely caused by the pressure of my belly fat on my belly button. You’ve gotta love when your doctor tells you that you are fat and then charges you for it! Brian Regan describes this relatable situation in the doctor’s office the best.

This particular happy graham is not about my weight loss journey, but stay tuned for one coming soon sharing my success over the past 8 months. However, I took to heart my physician’s advice to lose weight and now fast forward to April 2022, I was already down 30 pounds since my first doctor visit about regarding my belly button. Even though I was lighter and smaller in diameter around my stomach, the pain in my belly button was getting worse. 

Surgery is Inevitable

I was referred to a general surgeon at Arizona Advanced Surgery Dr. Sumeet Kadakia. He confirmed that I indeed had an umbilical hernia and would need surgery to correct it. If anyone in the Phoenix valley is looking for a general surgeon, I highly recommend Dr. Kadakia. Bedside manner is very important to me and he is fantastic at explaining everything and bringing peace and comfort to the medical situation. It was refreshing to have such a caring doctor.

I was surprised that I got it scheduled so quickly but I had 4 weeks to prepare for the surgery. I had never had surgery before. Unless you count getting tubes in my ears at age 3 and my wisdom teeth out when I was 17.

Surgery Prep

I was happy to hear that I did not have to do a colon cleanse or any bowel prep for surgery other than refrain from food or drink after 12am the day of the surgery. I have had a colonoscopy before and LET ME TELL YOU, the colon prep is HORRID. If you know what I am talking about, you may find this description of a colonoscopy by comedian Dave Barry to be quite amusing. Find it here. If you have never had to do colon prep for a procedure, count your blessings because it is the worst!

The morning of the surgery, I had to do a hibiclens soap scrub where I take a normal shower, and then I have to soap up my whole body with an antibacterial (hibiclens) soap and let it stay on my body for 5 minutes before I rinse it off. I had to do this the night before and the morning of the surgery. Waiting in the shower for 5 minutes with soap on your body is cold and the minutes go by very slowly. It also dries out your skin because basically you are washing your body with antibacterial hand soap. I have never wanted to put lotion on my body more in my life! Honestly, it is the little things in life we take for granted.

Surgery Day

The day of the surgery arrived. The staff at Arizona Advanced Surgery was amazing! Everyone was so friendly and helped me stay calm. For those who do not know what an umbilical hernia is, it is a hole (or holes) inside the lining of the abdomen close to the belly button where fat or sometimes part of the bowel begin poking through the holes of the lining. They fix it by stitching up the holes or adding mesh lining to support it. I just had to have stitching done this time.

The best part was in the operating room they were blasting great music that completely relaxed me. I told them to bump the jams as loud as they want because it is good for the soul! They loved my response to the music and told me I was their favorite patient. The next thing I know, surgery was over. 

My wife was able to come back with me immediately after surgery. It was amazing to have her there as I woke up and she gave me the news of the surgery. I had not one hernia, but TWO! When they got in there, they noticed there were two holes that were causing problems. No wonder I was having pain in that part of my abdomen. The doctor sewed up both of the hernias and now instead of a bulging, semi-discolored bellybutton, I have an “inny.” I’ll spare you the pictures…nobody needs to see that! Just know, it looks better, and will look better when the bruising and swelling goes down.

Road to Recovery and Getting Back to the Bike!

The recovery has been a little interesting. I thought I would bounce back pretty quickly, but the second day has been a little more rough than I’d like to admit. We did go to CVS and buy some new gel ice packs. They are awesome! If you are in need of a new ice pack, I highly recommend these. Extra Large Contour Gel Therapy Cold Compress. They cover a lot of surface area and come with a strap you can wrap around your waist, back, leg, etc to hold it into place. For $20 it is a great deal! I also recommend buying two because then you can have one in the freezer staying cold so you can easily swap one out for the other to have constant cold packs.

Hernia surgery isn’t so bad when I have the main essentials for a good recovery.

1. Cuddles with my son Graham!
2. A perfect adult sized cuddle blanket from Audrey and Bear
3. Jeremiah’s Ice – the strawberry gelati is 🔥
4. Sodalicious The Allison Show is my favorite!
5. Good shows – we are doing a Downton Abbey marathon and taking breaks in between to watch Hannah Montana with our girls

I have been totally loving the excuse to get to hang out on the couch and spend time with my family!

I am really sad because I am not able to get on my MYXFIT Bicycle. I have been on it 5-6 days a week this past year to help me with weight loss. I will be needing to refrain from exercises and rigorous cardio for 4-6 weeks. But I will be back at it again soon! If you are in the market for a great exercise bike that is comparable to the Peloton, but cheaper, Myxfit is having a Memorial Day sale until Tuesday where you get $250 off. I have done over 150 workouts since I bought this bike and I highly recommend it!  Myxfit is partnering with Openfit and Beachbody on Demand too so you will soon be able to access all the workouts in one place! I looking forward to be completely healed so I can get back in the “bike” saddle again!

For anyone out there who has a hernia, or any other health issue, I strongly encourage you to get it taken care of. We as men, sometimes feel embarrassed or let things go regarding our health. We are not doing anyone a favor by tying to be the hero and brush it off. We have a lot of people counting on us to be there for them and we owe it to them to take care of ourselves! It is a little painful and uncomfortable, but worth it in the end! I am excited to hopefully be even stronger once I am completely healed to continue my weight loss journey! Here’s to a hernia free future!