Doing Good...

Things are going really well.  I continue to heal up, eat right, take my vitamins, and do only the things I am allowed to do.  James is still bringing all the laundry downstairs and upstairs, and he is still doing all the vacuuming.  I know it is hard on him but wow he is a trooper.  He still does so much to help out around here and I really appreciate it.  To make it even better (if that is at all possible) James took me shopping to buy dresses and a swimsuit.  It was so beyond exciting, it was so surreal.  Just putting on the first dress and looking in the mirror made me cry.  I have never dreamed that I would be able to not only fit into a size 10 dress...but look so beautiful in it.  I just cried...I couldn’t help it.  Such an amazing blessing.  Truly it is.

New Swimsuit!

Bought a new swimsuit!  It is a two piece, but the top is one of those longer ones, like a tank top.  The bottom is a regular bottom but has an attached skirt.  Super cute and the top is lacy, James even picked it out!  I love it and I can not even tell you how great it feels to actually love how I am looking in a swimsuit.  There are really no words for how blessed I feel.  My scars show a bit, but by the time summer comes they should be all healed up.  So excited!

4 Weeks Post-Op

4 Weeks Post-Op

                                Top pic is my hip on my right side.  Still swollen, but slowly going down.

As you can see the incisions are done scabbing, and there is no more

skin peeling off.  The incisions in the middle area are already starting to fade away

and the larger scars are getting better as well.  Lots of swelling in the tummy area

still...but as I said before, that could take months to go away.

Left side, hip area.  Also looking really great.  Side note:  damn I have no butt!  LOL

Pounds Removed

Just heard from my surgeons assistant. Finally found out how much weight in skin he removed from my stomach. 5.2 pounds was taken off of me. At first I thought that it didn't sound like a lot...but then I picked up my five pound weight and was like, "WHOA!!, that is a lot!" How crazy that I had that much extra skin to be removed. So thankful for a great surgeon and how amazing God is in healing me up so quickly.

3 Week Check-up

So yesterday I had my 3 week check up.  I was anticipating not having my last drain taken out.  I knew it was draining less than was required for it to be removed, yet for some reason or another I really felt like it wasn’t going to be good enough and he would opt to leave it in for another week.  After waiting for a crazy amount of time to have my appointment I finally got into the actual exam room and Dr. Dinick came right in.  When I he said it was time to take that last drain out I was shocked!  I almost didn’t believe him.  lol  I was so excited.  Luckily this last one is shorter in length and didn’t hurt near as bad as the other ones.

He also examined my breasts for a very long time.  I can not even begin to tell you how crazy odd of a feeling it is to be examined like that.  As if I am so strange science project that has to be studied.  I kept feeling like we should maybe be having conversation but he was so intent and serious I had no idea what to say.  lol  He wants to let them heal for a while longer before he decides if there needs to be any surgical tweaking done to them.  There are some spots that he is concerned about and is hoping that they just fix themselves.  I am confident that they will turn out fine.  One has more swelling than the other right now (my right breast) and I think it is due to driving the van.  

I also no longer need to have gauze or bandages on anything!  YAY!!  That made my day, and even more was the news that I could stop wearing this garment at the 4 week mark.  SWEET!!
I am sure it will feel strange though once it is just my clothes against the incision marks.   Especially if I am wearing jeans.  

I don’t have to go back for another checkup for four more weeks.  I am so happy with how good things are going.  I am putting my scar cream on everyday after I shower and can’t wait to see the results from doing that too as time goes by.  I think what I am most looking forward to though would be the swelling in my stomach to go down.  I am so anxious to see how flat it will look.  I don’t even remember a time when I had a flat tummy, even though I am sure there was a time that I did indeed have one.  lol  Anyway, so that is the update for now.  Will write more next time.

2 Week Check Up!!

Had my two week check up today and everything went great.  I had another drain removed and once again it hurt really bad.  Not as bad as the first two....but still bad.  I am pretty tired today, not sure why...maybe from being out and about, maybe not.  All I know is a nap didn't really help.  My right underarm area is sore today now too, possibly from driving, who knows...so I am trying to just sit around and do nothing.  I feel like it is most likely sore from last nights sleeping.  When I woke up this morning I woke up with both my arms above my head...which I think is why I am sore.  I am not supposed to actually have my arms up above my head for very long and sleeping like that for sure made me wake up feeling sore and strange in my arms...so even though I felt better later, I am 90% sure the current soreness is from that...could be driving, but I feel like sleeping funny is most likely the culprit.

I am hoping to go to church tomorrow though if I am feeling up to it.  My doctor reminded me that no matter how good I am feeling I still need to take it easy...which I plan to do. Church is just a lot of sitting though, so it shouldn’t be too hard.  I know I tend to get overzealous and think I can do anything...so I have to remind myself that I need to take it SLOW!!  Cleaning the house is ok if I am doing very light mediocre things, but I can’t push it or I will just get more sore and not be feeling up to things later.  

Dr. Dinnick really examined my breasts today.  Grabbing and squeezing and all that.  He was kinda talking to himself while doing it and mentioning swelling in different areas and what not.  I asked him if he thought that they were looking good and he said, “Actually, they turned out even better than I thought.”   That made me really happy.  :)   If he loves them, I love them!  So I am really excited about how they will turn out.  Also...I got my scar cream today!!  Can’t wait to start using it tonight and see how quickly these scars GO AWAY!!!   So cool.  :)  I will post more pictures of them in two more weeks.  

2 Weeks Post-Op Pics

 Two weeks after surgery!  My scars are looking awesome.  As you can see they are not even red, and I have still had zero leakage or bleeding.  The scars are starting to peel and dry up which is great as well.  This process kinda reminds me of when you get a tattoo and the skin peels as it heals up.  My belly button, which you can see in this top pic, is barely noticeable as a bellybutton at all right now, but will continue to heal up and look more and more normal.  I do not plan on posting pics of my full breasts but as you can see those scars are doing just as well as the others.  My nipples as well.

 These side scars reach practically all the way around me.  One thing to note is that the scars don't really hurt.  What hurts is all the muscle tightening that my surgeon did on the inside.  Other than that the only other thing I feel is how tight and swollen my skin/body is.

These side scars are also peeling really well, and are not red or anything.  I have a lot of swelling though under them still and that is all expected.  That should continue to go down everyday for the next few months.

This last pic is showing how everything looks in the very front obviously.  The scar goes right above my public line.  My stomach is very swollen still from the surgery.  From what I understand the stomach area in particular could be what takes the longest in regards to swelling going down.  But again...everything is looking great.  Once I get my cream that I will be putting on my scars starting this weekend, things should drastically start improving.  I forget at the moment what the cream is called but it is very expensive ($135 for 6 weeks worth) and activates my stem cells which helps me grow new skin.  I am very excited to start using it!