erica’s abdominoplasty blog

Part of me is resisting this surgery for fear of people thinking it’s an issue of vanity. Before all of this, I would have told you that people who get plastic surgery (especially botox, breast implants, face lifts and such) were vain. I think it’s a fact of life that things will sag and get wrinkly as you get older. There’s a lot to be said for growing old with grace. Look at my Nonna, she was beautiful and soft and wrinkly up until the day she died. People in Hollywood like Joan Rivers piss me off — I mean, come on, she looks like a cat! So all that being said, I kinda felt like a traitor thinking about getting plastic surgery. I told myself I should just live with the hanging skin, and that it was part of the process I went through — a “war-wound.” But no matter how much I told myself that, I still didn’t like it. I didn’t like how it got in the way when I was buying clothes, I didn’t like the way it bulged in weird areas, I didn’t like the way it looked icky in sexy underwear, and I didn’t like how when I laid down, it laid down next to me. The more I thought about it, the more surgery didn’t seem so out of line. Getting older is natural, hanging skin from losing 100 pounds is not. It’s not something I should have to deal with after working so hard to get where I am. At this point, I feel like I’m rectifying a medical condition, and I feel justified in doing something for myself.

So today I woke up with a rash in my belly button. I guess I didn’t dry it off well enough last time I showered, and it’s red and itchy. This is just another thing that I look forward to not having to deal with again after the surgery. New flat belly button means no more rashes! Speaking of belly buttons that brings to mind one of the risks of the abdominoplasty. I could, in fact, lose my belly button. Part of the process includes cutting out my current belly button opening and making a new one. So it is possible that my belly button could die and turn black. Dr. Foley said this has never happened in his 26 years of practice, but it was something I needed to be aware of. What did my supportive, loving, wonderful best friend and boyfriend say about this?

Des: “Well, I think you can eat by yourself now, so that’s no big deal.”
Tj: “You think belly buttons are so great, until you have to clean lint out of them all the time.”

Sheish. So much for support systems.

So in an effort to be 100% honest with myself and others in this process, I’ve posted some pictures in my gallery as “”before”" examples. You can see them by clicking on the Gallery link on the right side of this page. They are less than flattering, and kind of make me cringe. But I want this experience to be open, honest and (most of all) informative to anyone in a similar situation. I wish there had been something like this out there for me to read when I was researching my options. In these pics I’m at goal, about 155 pounds. My frame is much smaller than the skin that hangs off of it. So be kind, and try not to judge.