Meeting Dr. Foley
On March 30th I went to visit Dr. Foley about getting plastic surgery. I was nervous about meeting with him and actually taking the first steps towards getting the surgery. But it was make or break time and I had to finally decide to do it or set it out of my mind for good. I had done plenty of research on the Internet regarding the procedure. And was prepared with a list of questions that I wanted to ask him.
Here are some websites I used in my research:
• Dr. Foley’s Site
• Smart Plastic Surgery Site
• IEnhance Site
Meeting with him was everything I expected. He looked at my tummy and evaluated the condition of my hanging skin pretty quickly. He said I had good muscle tone, but that there’s really nothing I could do for the skin outside of surgery — it was much like a balloon that had deflated and the elasticity was completely gone. No amount of sit ups would ever fix the problem. There were two surgeries we talked about, one that just removed extra skin from the lower abdomen and the full tummy tuck. But with the tummy tuck that includes tightening of muscles which could be problematic when I decide to have babies. So we decided that we could do the tummy tuck without the muscle work. He estimated that I have about two pounds of excess skin… which is pretty gross when I think about it. During the procedure he’ll lift up all the skin and stretch is down, cut off the extra and re-adhere it to my lower abdomen. I’ll end up getting a new opening for my bell button! Which is cool for me because right now you can’t even see my belly button. As far as what to expect after the surgery, I’ll have bruising, drainage, some moderate pain and a numb abdomen for a while. I’ll need to stay in bed for about a week, and after that I’ll need to wear a corset thing for about three weeks, and then limit my heavy activity for 4-6 weeks. Which sucks because that cuts into frisbee and kickball time.
So after thinking about it for a day, I called back and set the date for May 10th. It seems a little sudden and rash, but I’ve thought about it for the better part of three years and I feel prepared mentally to take this final step to complete the weight loss process. It’s definitely not cheap, but he’s giving me a deal since I’m not getting the muscle work. All in all it will run me about $5,000. It’s a lot of money, but I’ve spent a lot of money in general with Weight Watchers and other things I’ve done while losing weight. I’m really excited and really nervous. It seems like a big step, but I know that I really want to do it. Tj will be taking a couple days off to play my nurse, and I know that my family and friends will do everything to help me get back on my feet.
So now, I just wait. May will be here before I know it.