Bye Bye Baby Fat, Hello Bikini - Tampa, FL

Another great leap forward at two weeks post op. I returned to my PS for suture removal. Dr. Temmen was as excited as I am over my results and how far I have come at only two weeks. She told me I appear to be at a four week healing period rather than two. I then went for my first lymphatic drainage that same afternoon. I was anxious about the therapy due to the hypersensitivity and numbness I still have, but the experience was not only comfortable, but extremely relaxing. I didn't want it to end, especially when I fell asleep during the back portion of the therapy. The following day, I could not beleive how awesome I felt. I drove myself to the mall, shopped for over an hour, returned home and put all Christmas decorations away. I'm not sure if it was coincidence or not, but I feel the lymphatic drainage was the reason behind the progress I had in one day. I return to work Monday and now feel as though I have finally reached a point in my recovery where I can manage a full day of work. I return for my second sesson of lymphatic drainage Tuesday and hope to experience even more swelling reduction and increased energy. Oh, I forgot the most impressive milestone; I wore my jeans (although loose) and a knit shirt to my hairdresser, when I came through the door, her mouth dropped and then a "Oh my god, you look gorgeous", that made my day (and week).

Although they are not the best quality, these photos taken 9 days after surgery are a good indication of the improvement I have seen. I am extremely short waisted and have had difficulty with the average compression garment which has caused an indentation below my rib cage. Dr. Temmen has ordered a special garment for me and has placed foam under the current garment to help reduce this indentation by reducing the folding of the garment. All in all I am elated over my results.

Today was a true lesson in learning that I do not have controll over everything and that Christmas will be just fine without me dictating every moment. I started off this morning feeling FANTASTIC, with liittle swelling and standing almost perfectly straight. I had to go an push myself way too far by doing laundry, wrapping gifts, cleaning my bedroom and showering. I ended up with severe back pain and depression as I realized I am NOT superwoman. I spent the remainder of the day letting everyone in my family make dinner and clean up, and it all turned out great without me, who would have guessed? I'm off the Percoset and taking Ibuprohen now, yay!!. I am begining to see progress in my healing. I'm still fairly swollen and bruised so I cannot make an honest assessment of the esthetic results of my surgery. One thing that did impress me was sitting on the shower chair and not seeing my all too familiar roll, I could also see an actual belly button and it looks awesome. LOL