Surgery - There's no better way to put it.

This “third time’s a charm” system of writing has become somewhat of a crutch for me because this is my third approach of telling you some, how shall I say it, “interesting” news. I call this the blunt methodology, which derives from how exasperated I am that this is actually happening to me on my exchange.

I just went to the hospital to have a consultation with my surgeon who will be operating on me in two weeks, on the 20^th of March. We aren’t exactly sure how it started, but about three or four months ago I noticed I had a bump right above my belly button. Now, keep in mind that this was right around the time the world was supposed to end so there were all kinds of jokes between my host parents and I that there were aliens inside of me. Either that or the live oysters I had eaten were just now wriggling around. However, after a week or so the bump didn’t hurt anymore and we let it be.

Last Thursday night while I was talking to Diatou, my host sister who will be living at my house in a few weeks, I laughed extremely hard to the point where I was crouched down and putting a lot of pressure on my stomach muscles. Boom. The familiar feeling came back and hurt like a bad stomachache. The next morning my host mom, Simone, took me to the doctor’s office and then to get an ultra sound to confirm what was already suspected.

It turns out that there’s a weak part in my abdominal wall and a part of my intestines went through, which is called a hernia (it sounds grosser than it is, but that’s the way it goes). The only way to solve this problem is by way of a quick surgery and since mine is small it will be even easier. I’ve never had surgery before or even been put under for that matter. Adding the fact that it’s in a whole other country to the equation makes it a bit more complicated. The cherry on top is that the day this all happened was my six month anniversary of being in France and being away from my family. That was a bit much to take in all at once but I am so lucky to have wonderful host parents who have taken great care of me.

My parents won’t be coming to visit me as far as I know because, like I said, it’s a small surgery and I won’t be staying the night in the hospital. We will have skype and there’s this wonderful thing they invented called sleep that will keep my mind off of the distance for the most part. Genius.

So to review, the key terms are “minor,” “not overnight,” and “fine” so there’s no need to worry. This is just a part of my exchange, which is honestly just life in another country. There’s no way to prevent things like these no matter how much I would like to change my circumstance but there is a mindset that makes all the difference.

In the meantime I am permitted to go on my Barcelona trip and will return in time to go to a Rotary event. My surgery will be a few days after and I will be at the end of my recovery when I leave for my bus trip in mid-April. See? Not too serious.

Spare good-thoughts are appreciated!

Gros bisous,

Maggie