A little over one year ago I got a surgical G-Jet feeding tube. This is a feeding tube that goes directly through the stomach, and you end up having a small “button” or tube on the outside.

I got this because I had trouble getting enough and right nutrition due to my illness Gastroparesis.

I now have no feeding tube on my stomach, but I am left with a scar which will never go away.

I have had multiple people asking me if the scar is my belly button, or why I have two belly buttons. I totally get why they are asking, considering the scar can look a bit like a belly button. I therefore don’t mind them asking, however there are so many out there who are not like me and hide the scar because they are ashamed.

I have been told that I can get surgery to make the scar less visible, but I don’t want to. To me this is proof of what I have overcome, and how secure and confident I have gotten when it comes to my illness. Only two years ago, would I ever say that I even had an illness, let alone wear something that shoved my scar.

Being on both sides of the “openness specter”, can I for sure say that being open and confident is much better than trying to hide it. I can also say that 99,9% of all people you meet will not judge you, think less of you or think you are weird. Instead they will understand or atleast try to understand.

I am sharing my “second belly button” to show that I am not ashamed, and neither should you. Your scare is a part of you and your story, and it shows you are a fighter.

So if you are like me and have a scare, be confident, where is that top, choose a bikini instead of a bathing suit, and know that you are just as beautiful with a scare as you are without. The only difference is that you now have a story, which has made you a stronger and a more understanding version of yourself. So newer be ashamed and newer let other people's opinions stop you from showing your scar. You are a beautiful and strong fighter, so own your scar, and live your life.

This is you, and this is me.