Quick Note

Just a quick note to say that the skin sensitivity is better. I think I might be withdrawing off the meds, so hopefully a few days and I'll be tip top.

Week 3 Post-Op

I wish I could say that week 3 ended as well as week 2, but I would be lying. The skin sensitivity stopped getting better after a couple of days and started to get worse. I felt like I had a horrible sun burn over my entire abdomen. I'd wear a sports bra and yoga pants around the house, but just putting on a soft cotton shirt twice a day to walk my daughter to school caused so much discomfort I'd have to take narcotics and lay in bed for the rest of the day.

The doctor addressed this by giving me Zyrtec and Prilosec. He said each of these medications had a nerve inhibitor that would help with the nerves that were reconnecting. He prescribed a cortisone cream (a strong one) to apply twice a day. It didn't work for the first few days but it seems to be better, now. It makes my skin lose all pigment and I'm starting to peel a bit, but I'm able to leave the house without heavy pain meds and I'll take any progress I can get.

I also got the green light to start taking Advil instead of Vicodin, and that's been a huge help. I felt like I was becoming dependent on these meds and I asked my doctor to please not give me anymore. In fact, I said something to the effect of "I need to learn to live without these, from now on, please hold me accountable to that and refuse any further refills." The doctor agreed, saying he doesn't want me in pain but the pain of a possible addiction isn't something he wishes for me either.

I have a full bottle left, and when I feel uncomfortable or sore I'm able to talk myself out of taking them by repeating to myself that the pain isn't that bad and this is my last bottle of the strong pain meds. If I have a bad day or pull a muscle, I need to have these around. So far, it has enabled me to wean off of the hard stuff and on to the Advil. I'm also resting just about as much as I was the first week of the surgery.

This recovery has been more difficult than anyone could have possibly described to me. There are moments when I'm frustrated and I cry because I want to move on with my life and get out of the house. There are moments when I'm elated because I look fantastic. Pre-surgery, I knew it would hurt and it would be difficult but I was able to just block it out of my mind. I refused to think about it. I also need to remember that the longest of recoveries take 8 weeks, and I'm only 3 weeks into it. Patience is not a virtue of mine.

Today I'm going out to the mall to buy some new clothes. THAT makes me happy. :)

13-16 Days Post-Op

Hi!

Today is 16 days post-op, so I'll update the last four days or so.

Each day the skin sensitivity has become a little less irritating, but I've spent the majority of the last few days in a sports bra and low rise yoga pants because it DOES irritate my skin when even the softest material rubs against it.

I'm now down to less than 3 pain pills a day, and even then, I only need them if I needed to wear a shirt for a while to run an errand or something. When I get home from the store I just take off the shirt and take a pain pill and it is manageable.

I stopped needing valium the day after the drains were removed. I haven't taken that for three days, I think?

I have no more abdominal muscular pain. I feel it faster if I use my abdomen to lift my baby (she is 16 pounds) but it isn't painful, it's just what I consider a warning from my body to take it easy.

Here are my 16 day post-op pictures. I have a lot of swelling from my ribcage to my belly button, making my torso wider and causing it to protrude a bit at the bottom, but the swelling is going down.

I've lost 21.4 lbs since the surgery. They removed 11.5 pounds of skin and the rest is just weight I've lost during recovery. The tightness of my stomach makes it difficult to eat large amounts of food.

12 Days Post-Op: Drain Removal!

Yesterday I made the trek back to the Doctor's office, drains carefully pinned inside my sweatpants and sweatshirt tied around my waist to hide the bulk. I was taken back to the exam room quickly (amazing the service you get when you pay someone five figures, cash). They took one look at my drains and told me they could come out, as they were barely draining anything and were full of air.

I had been assured by the nurse that most of my pain was being caused by the drains, and while I was looking forward to them coming out of my body, I was DREADING them coming out of my body. Every description I had read said it was a weird feeling; you could feel the tubing being ripped out of you internally. I really had no desire to experience this. So I completely blocked what was about to happen and refused to think about it. I went Scarlett O'Hara on the whole thing, "Fiddle Dee Dee, I'll think about this tomorrow."

Well, I laid down on the exam table and they pulled out each drain. One by one (there were four). OUCH. No, really. OUCH. I felt the drains pulled from my sternum and lower back on each side, and out of the site on my groin where they had originally been placed. The best way I can describe the feeling is that I was laying on the bed and a Kung Fu master was throwing direct, tough punches at my abdomen.

Then, they removed the tape around my abdomen and I got my first good look at my incision. It's not bad. Every time I get frustrated with the thought of having this scar I think about what I looked like with the loose skin and it really isn't all that bad. I'll post pictures, soon.

We left after to go walk around Target and buy some new clothes for me to lounge around in (HELLO SIZE MEDIUM, I HAVE MISSED YOU SO FREAKING MUCH) and I was REALLY uncomfortable. We came home and I laid on the couch. Dinner was prepared for me and I didn't eat it, even though I was on full doses of pain meds I was really uncomfortable so I just went and lay under the covers.

While all this was going on, my skin started feeling really sensitive, like I was warned. My hands and feet got cold and I was involuntarily trembling. I put on three pairs of socks and two comforters and shook until it was time for my next dose of pain meds. I asked my husband to take my temperature and I had no fever. I started getting scared that I was dependent on the pain meds and that is what the shaking was from, because an hour after my dose of meds I felt able to sit up in bed and talk.

I took my last dose of meds for the day (the valium is no longer needed, my internal pain IS much better without the drains) and went to sleep.

I dreamed of a beach, where I was out in the sun all day. I'm white as a lamb so in my dream I contracted an awful sunburn. When I woke up, it hit me - that's exactly what I was feeling! Now that the incision isn't protected by the surgical gauze and tape it feels like I have a blistered sunburn. My solution? Naked time. Really. My poor sister in law - I'm sitting in my bed in a sports bra and panties, and as long as nothing touches my abdomen I have no pain. So...my husband should be happy and my sister in law and I are about to get REALLY close.

11 Days Post-Op

I mentioned yesterday I'm growing increasingly frustrated with the pain. Part of the problem is that I'm scared to run out of pain medication. I'm not allowed to take Advil or Aleve or anything other than what I'm prescribed (Vicodin) because it might thin my blood. I'm scared to take the medication as directed because I'm afraid I'll run out and they won't give me a new prescription and I'll be in even more pain. I'm also scared of becoming dependent. I have only taken 10 pills over the last 4 days and I'm really hurting bad. I'm obsessing over my medications.

I e-mailed my physician this morning and told them all the details of how I'm scared to take the meds, I detailed the number of doses I've taken and talked about how much pain I've been in throughout the week. I asked them, candidly, about what I can expect in the next few weeks. Will I be able to renew my prescription? When can I switch to non-narcotic medication? Is this abnormal for someone who's had a body lift? I hope to have a response soon.

I am becoming increasingly anxious and neurotic about this. The fear of future pain is almost worse than the pain I'm currently in (and that's bad).

If I'm rambling, I apologize. It is important I share this here - this is the exact type of feedback I was looking for before the surgery and was unable to find. I hope reading this struggle helps prepare others for what has turned out to be a very difficult recovery.

Update: I received the following response from my e-mail to the doctor.

Hi (name censored). TAKE A DEEP BREATH. You will NOT become addicted to the pain medicine. I will give you a refill, just call your pharmacy and request it. (Lortab and valium if you need it) It is perfectly normal to still be pretty uncomfortable with the drains in. When we take them out you will feel sooo much better. It’s not quite time for Advil. You sound like you are doing everything right and are progressing just as we’d expect. If you still have the tape dressings on you can take them off as they do start to get a little funky after a while. You are doing the right thing washing the drain openings with soap and water and keeping them as dry as possible. They do tend to get very irritated toward the end.

10 Days Post-Op

Ouch.

Yes, I overdid it yesterday. I woke up in the middle of the night and it felt like someone had kicked me, hard, in the stomach. I took one vicodin and one valium and got back in bed, curled in the fetal position, and fell back asleep.

I don't know what time that was.

I woke up to my alarm at 6:00 am to help my oldest off to school, took two vicodin and skipped the valium. I sat with a cup of coffee and waited for the medicine to kick in. This has been my worst day since my appointment last Wednesday.

Around 7:30 I walked the half-mile it takes to get my oldest to school, very slowly. Every time I stepped on my right foot I had lower groin pain. To be honest, I think I may be having my monthly bloat, or I may be just plain gassy. That is extraordinarily painful when your insides have been completely tightened and rearranged.

At 9 am I took my last two demerol - the only other pain medicine I'm allowed besides plain tylenol. I'm laying down now and feel a bit better. It's been almost six hours since my last dose of vicodin and I'm doing well enough to where I think I can hold off until later. I'm fortunate to have my sister-in-law by my side, helping me with the little ones so I can truly rest.

I'm growing impatient with recovery. I read other websites before the operation (the lack of stories online is part of the reason for this blog) and they said to expect to be depressed and frustrated. Up until now, I didn't understand that - even swollen with surgical drains I've got the best body I've ever had. But we're on day 10 and I still hurt and I'm just ready to get up and on with my life.

I don't do resting well.

9 Days Post-Op

I'm pretty tired of these surgical drains by now. On days where I'm more active, I drain more fluid. The color in the drains is redder than it has been the first week, so I hope that doesn't mean I've overdone it. It doesn't look like red blood, it looks like red fluid.

After being told last week to be more active, I was. I woke up this morning and baked muffins for my children and my sister, who is here to help. I went to the pharmacy and walked for about 30 minutes again. I set up a craft table for my children, and I used my bread maker to make a fresh loaf of bread for the dinner my mother-in-law was bringing. I lifted the baby a few times (I'm a day early on this restriction, so I cheated). I did lots of dawdling around the house and standing.

I wasn't supposed to lift my baby until ten days post-op, but I carried her for a few minutes a few times today when she needed comfort. It didn't hurt, but I did feel it in my ab muscles.

Now, at the end of this day, I feel like I've overdone it and I'm completely exhausted and my stomach is hurting a bit. Hopefully a good night sleep will undo today's exertion.

I have a good half-mile walk in the morning to take my oldest child to school, and I plan to rest after that. I'll see the doctor on Wednesday, and my number one request is going to be to get these drains out of me! At the same time, I don't think he'll take them out because they're still draining fluids from my abdomen and I guess those fluids are better out than in.

I've also noticed more abdominal swelling today than usual. I'm going to attribute this to overdoing it and, other than walking my daughter to school, going to take it very easy tomorrow.

One Week Post-Op

I'm having trouble with all the medicine I'm on. I know it's only been a week and I should expect to be in pain, but I am really just wishing I could be off of these meds completely. I don't like the way they make me feel. I feel jittery a lot.

I'm starting to get my appetite back, which is good. I'd lost about 5 pounds in addition to the 11.5 that was removed during surgery because I just didn't have the stomach for any food.

I'm on a very low sodium diet to help reduce swelling, and it's been extremely effective. Today, day 7, my stomach is flat as a board, and I have very little swelling at all. My drains are not filling as much. I'm healing very well.

It's kind of neat - seeing my stomach flat as a board. It never has been in my life. I was an overweight child, an obese teenager, and even when I lost the bulk of the weight I always had some loose skin hanging there. I'm in awe of my new body. It's better than I could have expected was even possible.

If it seems like I'm rambling, well, I am. I'm totally doped up on all these medicines. I keep trying to wean down but I am in quite a bit of pain and I'm just not ready yet.

So far, my favorite result of this surgery is being able to pick any shirt out of my closet and put it on without having to see if it's big enough or long enough to cover my loose skin. It's a feeling of freedom I never realized I could have. No matter what shirt I pick, it looks good!

I am not cleared to have sex until two weeks post op (and when the drains come out, of course). My husband says that he feels like he has the most awesome Christmas present under the tree, but it's Thanksgiving and he can't touch it yet. I'm glad for him - he's loved me like crazy through all the ups and downs and now he has a wife who's confident and sexy again. I think we're going to be like newlyweds again, but better - because we also have a great history between us. I really can't wait.

Day 5 Post-Op (Pictures Finally Included)

Day 5 Post-op started with me awakened to complete agony. I woke up around 9 am. The night before, I took one demerol and two tylenol at 11 pm and went to sleep. So when I woke up, I had no pain meds at all in my system and it was horrible. I had an appointment at 11 am, and had no idea how I was going to possibly get dressed and get in the car and make it into the office.

I took one vicodin, a valium, got dressed, and left. I went into the doctor and told the nurse what was going on and she told me I should be able to walk about a half a mile by now, and should be in no discomfort whatsoever. I should be taking the full dose of my pain meds! That is one valium every six hours and two Vicodin every four hours. She gave me two more refills (part of the reason I was not taking them is that I was worried I would run out) and told me to go home, take the full doses, and then go to the pharmacy and have them filled, and to walk for thirty minutes while I was there.

The doctor came in and was amazed at how fantastic my abdomen looks. He said it was some of his best work - and he's a really popular surgeon. My swelling is minimal, and my surgical drains can start coming out next week.

Here are my pictures at 5 days post-op:

First, I'm sorry for the fuzziness and the spots on the mirror. a) I want this to be anonymous so you can't see my face AT ALL and b) I'm not cleaning my mirror, I just had a body lift. ;)

So, what you're seeing in the pictures is what feels like packing tape wrapped tightly around my body. In my case, since there was no lipo, this is the only binding I require, but most body lifts and tummy tucks will require a binding garment for several months. The tubes hanging from the groin area are the surgical drains I described in earlier posts. The liquid you see inside is reddish/yellowish and I think that's why I'm not swollen. That and I'm on a STRICT low sodium diet and I haven't cheated at all. Heck, I haven't eaten much, either. My stomach feels so tight that I don't have much room in there so I'm not eating much.

Back to the story of Day 5.

I did go to the pharmacy with my husband and three children. I was walking very slow and hunched over. I had the drains tucked into my pants and I was so worried they were going to ask to search me because it looked like I had stuffed merchandise into my pants. It hurt a little, but I got through the whole trip and felt great by the end! The pain meds had kicked in.

We came home and I was able to help get dinner on the table, eat with the family, play games with the kids, and clean out my own drains (my husband was happy about this).

This was such a dramatic change in how I felt in just one day!

The moral of the story of Day 5 is: TAKE YOUR PAIN MEDS!!

Days 3-4 Post op

Take. Your. Meds.

When people tell you to stay ahead of your pain medication, listen. I came home and went straight to bed. I took my anti-biotics and steroids as directed. Valium, which offers the most relief against the the pain of the tightening of stomach muscles, was also taken as directed. I got it in my head that I needed to start weaning off the pain meds.

What resulted was me going ten, twelve hours at a time with no medicine and I was just in agony. I thought I was doing well because I could roll over sometimes (with use of my arms and legs) and not cry. I got up once an hour to go to the bathroom and refill my water. I even sat at the dinner table with my family. But I was in agony!

I slept as much as possible these two days, and I can't blog much more, because I don't remember much. I know that I was in a good amount of pain, and scared that I would not be ready for when my husband goes back to work next week.

My next post, Day 5, will shed a lot of light as to what I was doing wrong.

Heading Home

After the Doctor discharged me, we packed up and left. I was concerned about the ride home - we had to travel 40 miles or so across four freeways and I was concerned the bumpy ride would be painful, but it wasn't all that bad. We came home and I went right to bed.

My husband went to the store to pick up the extra medication I required while I slept. I stayed pretty medicated the first night, but I had a great moment when I put on some yoga pants that looked fantastic on my newly flat belly.

I have surgical drains hanging from my groin area, that need to be emptied several times a day. They're in the shape of grenades attached to a tube that goes inside my body. You have to squeeze the tubes to help keep any clots or drainage flow, and then you empty the bulb into a cup and flush the fluids down the toilet. My husband does this for me three times a day. Nothing says love like cleaning out surgical drains. He really doesn't seem bothered by it. He did get a glimpse of my rear end while I was changing and he said it took everything he had not to attack me. The results of the surgery are already remarkable.

I'm starting to take half doses of the pain medication, and healing very quickly. The Valium is the most important medicine now as it relieves the tightness in my abdomen. I'm starting to take regular Tylenol in between doses of narcotics to help wean myself off. I'm pleased with the level of pain I have now - it's better than expected.

Night of Surgery

This is where the story starts to get good.


After body lift surgery, you can't stand up straight. You can't even roll over on your side without extreme pain. Fortunately I'd been hitting the gym like crazy for a couple of months so I could use my arms and legs to lift myself and not engage my core at all. There were some tasks, however, like sitting up from a reclined position in bed, that I just could not do. My nurse and my husband were both very understanding and I was able to direct them as to exactly what I needed them to do to help me get where I needed to go. They were both very supportive about this.

I'm not very good with pain medication. They don't make me sick or anything, but I start to get very anxious and irritable (and bitchy) if I'm on them for too long. Around 7 in the evening, a few hours into the dilaudid, I started getting irritated. My nurse was clumsy; ill prepared for the job she was doing. I'm always very patient and kind with nurses - they have a thankless job and I'm sure get treated like dirt all the time so I try very hard to be understanding if something goes wrong. I started having trouble dealing with, what was apparently her Attention Deficit Disorder.

Anyway, I wanted to try to go pee. They had a catheter in for the procedure so that meant I had to urinate before they'd let me leave the next day. So, the nurse helped me stand up, and then, started untangling cords and IV drips and all kinds of crap so we could move to the bathroom. This was a really small room, and I was frustrated that she didn't think to do this before I stood up. It was not safe for me to be standing that long based on the amount of drugs I had in my system, yet sitting back down would engage my core again and leave me in agony. Finally I had to stop being polite and tell her to move out of the way and I'd make it on my own.

I had consumed three IV bags of fluid and three 32 ounce jugs of water since the time I came out of recovery. I didn't feel the urge to urinate yet, but I wanted to try and get that 'milestone' out of the way. I sat on the toilet and felt the urge to pee, but every time the flow would start my muscles would completely tighten and hold it in. I couldn't make them relax at all. This meant I was going to have them put a catheter in me while I was awake and that scared me to death.

I got up and started walking back into bed and then it happened - my first ever drug fueled crazy panic attack. I started hyperventilating and crying and my husband called for help. The nurse couldn't find an oxygen mask for me, and when she brought the oxygen mask in, it didn't have any tubing on it to connect it to the Oxygen feed in the wall behind the bed. She couldn't understand why it wasn't working. At this point, it sent my anxiety level even higher because I realized that the woman who was responsible for my care after a major surgery didn't even know how to use the oxygen provided in the room.

A respiratory specialist came in, as did a Nurses Assistant. Once they got the Oxygen mask on me, my blood was immediately 100% oxygenated, and the respiratory specialist left thereafter. She was quite rude and my husband and I both had to yell at her to STOP talking about the reason for my panic attack every time I calmed down - it was just sending me over the edge again. She actually started arguing back saying "I don't understand what I did wrong." - I remember looking at her and saying "This is not about you. None of this is about you. Please leave." She was looking for drama from a super doped up post-op surgical patient? Just insane. Fortunately I don't remember much else.

The nurses assistant, Stephanie, that came in, was so amazing. She rubbed my shoulder and talked to me in a soothing manner (I was softly sobbing at this point). She told me that her sister had a roommate that used to have panic attacks and that they would give her a book and ask her to read one page out loud, and when she was done, she was usually calm. So I took out Bitter is the New Black, a book I'd been reading for my book club, and read a page. This worked!

We talked about what was going on and I suggested they take me off the dilaudid because of my reaction. They switched me to morphine instead, which isn't as effective on the pain for me but I would rather hurt a little bit more and be a little less bat shit crazy. After the first dose of morphine was delivered, they inserted the catheter and they emptied my bladder (it took three containers - I really had to go). I didn't even feel the thing going in. All that panic for nothing! A lot of my lower abdominal discomfort was relieved at this time, as the large bladder was putting pressure on the entire area.

I couldn't fall asleep all night long. The combination of morphine, valium, antibiotics, steroids, and whatever else they'd given me was keeping me awake. I was just miserable. I wanted to sleep so bad. I knew this was the most painful day of the surgery and I was planning on sleeping as much as possible but it just wasn't happening.

The next morning, I woke up and they took out the catheter so I could try to urinate. I got up and walked to the bathroom (pretty painful) and sat down and still couldn't go. I didn't cry or have a panic attack this time, but I did start to feel like I was going to throw up. It makes sense - I had only been able to stomach a few bites of potatoes and grapes the night before and have had massive amounts of strong drugs in my system. Now, throwing up would be the WORST pain imaginable and I'd worry about pulling a stitch or something. Fortunately, they gave me some phenergen which took away the nausea and put me right to sleep.

After sleeping most of the day away I woke up feeling better. The nurses said I had some more color. I even ate half of a chicken sandwich before I started to feel like it was too much. I got up and this time I was able to urinate!

As soon as it was reported that I had finally gone to the bathroom my doctor was called and he came in to discharge me. He wrote me a prescription for Demerol and Phenergen so I could sleep when I got home. He told me that my kids sure did a big number on me. He removed 11.5 pounds of skin and re-attached my abdominal muscles. I asked him if I was going to get a support garment to wear for the next few months and he said, "You don't need one, there was no lipo. Your stomach is flat as a board."

That moment validated all the hard work I've done over the last decade to be healthy and exercise. It proved I really had done all I could do. It was a great moment for me.

Day of Surgery

I was taken back to a pre-op room where I was questioned by an anesthesiologist and prepped for surgery. They put me in a hospital gown that attached to an air hose that flushed warm water throughout the gown. It kept me warm and cozy and it was really relaxing. They made arrangements for my glasses to come on the gurney with me to surgery so I could see as soon as I woke up.

The Dr. came in and had me undress. He drew lines and circles all over my body. He seemed excited about the surgery, he said that with my frame this was going to turn out exceptional.

They came in and gave me two different medicines (I saw the name on one of the syringes as 'Fentanyl") to get the anestesia going and started wheeling me back. I was able to tell my husband I love him.

That's the last thing I remember before the operation.

Next thing I knew, I was awake and in recovery. Someone asked me what year it was. I answered correctly (yay!) and asked for my husband. They said they'd get him for me and I told them to tell him I love him more than the Cubs suck. That's one of our 'inside' jokes and I knew when he heard it he would be assured that I was ok.

He told me that the doctor had come out and talked to him. The surgery went beautifully. My ab muscles were completely separated from my pregnancies so the tightened them back to normal and then removed 11.5 pounds of skin. There wasn't enough fat to do liposuction so none was used. Isn't that amazing? 11.5 pounds of skin? Just around my abdomen?!

They moved me right into my recovery room. I don't remember a lot during this time. I called my mother to tell her I was ok and I sent her into a fit of tears by calling her "Mommy" for the first time in a decade or so. The drugs made me pretty woozy. I think she was emotionally overwhelmed to hear me address her the way I did as a young child, especially since we live across the country and she couldn't be with me during the recovery period.

I was on a pain pump with Dilaudid. Even with the pain medicine I was barely comfortable. This was much more painful than I had expected! I expected it to hurt, but WOW! I had no pain at the incision site at all, but the pain in my ab muscles is just awful. Thankfully, I've worked out enough to recognize what it feels like when your muscles are just intensely sore so I can mentally work through that pain.

At this point, it was a few hours post-op and I was punching that button for pain meds as much as I could. They gave me valium, which was the only medicine that would relieve the muscle soreness.

I'd rate the pain the day of the operation as a 9 on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the worst.

Headed in..

I'm leaving for the hospital in about 30 minutes. I'm washed in the special soap they've given me to kill germs (they say the stuff will burn your face and genitals... I had serious anxiety of using it). They will NOT let me wear make-up, which is kind of devastating. I don't need make up to be pretty, I need make-up to hide the fact that I have the eyebrows of an albino!

So I will be walking into the hospital with the horror of having thin, invisible, whitish eyebrows. Oh, the sacrifices we make for vanity.

I *am* going to blowdry and straighten my hair. I don't know how long I'll have to go without washing it and if I don't give it some TLC now it will be a big frizzy natty mess.

Getting anxious!

I'm in the hotel near the hospital. Due to inclement weather, the surgery was moved back from 5:15 am to 9 am, to let some of the ice clear and allow all support staff to make it to work safely. This doesn't bother me at all, except I'll have to go four hours longer without food or water. I can deal without eating but I'm always hyper thirsty.

This will probably be my last update before the surgery. I'm clean, fully shaved for surgery, and nervous. I wonder if I'll look weird, like if my legs will look fat or my arms or I'll find out my belly is naturally round or something. I guess there's only one way to find out.

The Day Before

Tomorrow is the big day!

Today I'm laundering all the clothes in special detergent for sensitive skin, as I've been warned my skin sensitivity will change after surgery. We've got a hotel booked next to the hospital because we're going to navigate a nasty ice storm and we'd rather do it this evening than at 4 am. Plans are made with the babysitter and it's almost time!

My cold is much better! I have a slight runny nose but my nasal passages are clear and there is no congestion in my chest. No fever. So surgery is a go!

I'm starting to get really, really nervous. I took before pictures last night, and I am just horrified. Ugh. It's so hard to look at your body through the lens of a camera. I'll post them on the blog when I have pretty 'after' pictures to post next to them!

This time tomorrow I'll be cut open on a table with a surgeon doing any number of horrific things to my body to make me look normal again. I'm not the praying type, but if you are, please think of me tonight.

3 Days Pre-op

I woke up this morning feeling a smidge better! There is air moving through my nose for the first time in three days and my aches are not as bad as they were yesterday. I hope this means I'll be all better by Friday! I was hoping to get some excellent workouts in this week, but I don't think that's in the works. There is so much to do to prepare for being out of commission for a week!

Mother nature has decided to play a prank on me. I live in a warm climate that never sees snow and we get a deep freeze once every 10 years or so. The night before my operation we're forecast to get freezing rain or snow - and the hospital is an hour away. I've arranged for my sister to spend the night at my house with my three children while my husband and I stay in a hotel next to the hospital. That way we don't have to be on the roads at 4 am.

I keep looking at the skin on my belly and thinking "So long, sucka!". It won't be long now. Three days!! Eek!