“First beach pic...I think I'll throw away the tankini!!”

I wanted my hernia repaired to prevent the possibility of a future obstruction....and I also wanted to look good!! 

I'm a 33 year old mother of 4. I just had a complete tummy tuck/hernia repair on August 29th.
I had a bowel obstruction in 2005 and had a large vertical incision and an umbilical hernia. I tried to have the hernia repaired by a general surgeon last year, but that failed miserably.  My insurance company would only allow them to re-open my old incision.  He chose not to use mesh, but instead closed my rectus muscles with absorbable sutures. 

Within three months, my diastasis was worse than ever. My intestines were literally bulging through.  This was something that was very difficult for me to live with because I’m extremely fit, and health conscience. 
I'm very petite 5'3" and 112 pounds with no extra fatty tissue (normally not the type of person that considers a tummy tuck!) I did not want to go back to another general surgeon to have my problem fixed.  I wanted someone who would care about the “finished product” as well as the medical issue.   I saw 5 plastic surgeons because I knew how delicate my procedure would be because of this.  Two of them even turned me away! 

 I saw Dr. Pousti for the first time since my procedure a few days ago, and he said that on a scale of "white-hair" inducing tummy tucks, mine was about an 11! He checked out all of my digestive organs, and thankfully everything was okay...and so far, from what we can tell, it looks awesome!!  I’m 10 days post-op today, and am feeling stronger every day

Updated on 18 Sep 2011:
I'll be 3 weeks PO tomorrow- I'm feeling MUCH better, but I'm still having to walk hunched over. Honestly, that's the only pain that I have now! ;) I'm still pretty swollen, but when I compare before and after pics I'm amazed! My sweet husband who has been an amazing help is going back to work tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Updated on 13 Oct 2011:
I'm totally wishing that my husband had taken 6 weeks of leave instead of 3- ;) With 4 kids, life goes on whether you're ready or not. Luckily we have a wonderful lady who is cleaning for us and I have been buying my dinners from a place that pre-makes them for the freezer. (AWESOME)I was going stir crazy so my husband and I repainted our kitchen table- don't worry, he did the sanding...I did the easy stuff ;) It looks great! Seriously, I just needed something to do that didn't involve a screen!

I'm feeling kind of discouraged because part of my incision stil hasn't healed...it's very "meaty". Because of this I haven't NOT showered yet....yes, it's been 6 weeks since I have had a shower!!! I'm very happy with my results, and am focusing on keeping my eye on the prize...but I have to admit that this has been hard for me. I really miss working out, and for the first time in years feel "soft"...I keep having to remind myself that this is okay, and that in the future I will be even more happy with my body because my tummy will match the rest of my body!!