NOTE: This post may be TMI for some. I will not be offended if you skip it : )

For the past few years, I have had issues with my gallbladder. Being in the 3F Club (female, fertile and forty), along with family history, it wasn’t a surprise when things went awry. The problem was having it get bad enough to merit action.

With a recent increase in the discomfort and pain associated with eating *anything*, it was time to go to the doctor. I spent a week in the Big City hoping, believe it or not, to have surgery. Yep, I wanted it, but my darn body would not cooperate. An ultrasound revealed no gallstones, which would have been a slam dunk for surgery. A nuclear medicine procedure showed abnormal function of my gallbladder (not a shock, considering what I’ve been feeling for a few years) but I needed one more test before it could be okayed for removal. An upper GI endoscopy showed everything else was normal, so it was finally decided the gallbladder was, indeed, the culprit and had to go.

Can we say frustrated? I know the doctors needed to cover their bases, that the insurance company would want absolute proof this was my problem. But still. Going all that way and hoping for relief only to have to come home intact and needing to figure out when my husband’s travel schedule and my doctor’s surgical schedule would mesh is a pain. Not to mention the cost and inconvenience of more travel and juggling home life. Ugh.

This is the price paid for living in semi-rural Alaska, away from large cities and snarly traffic. The price for phenomenal scenery, wildlife right outside your front door (yes, literally), and living in a town where you don’t worry about your kids wandering neighborhoods.

Worth it? While I sit and wait and get frustrated about rearranging my life, not so much. But in the grand scheme of things, I’d rather be inconvenienced for a week or two or three than have to live under more “civilized” conditions.

And in case you were curious, my upper GI is a thing of beauty. I’m considering using the images on the report as my holiday card. Okay, maybe not.