Tummy Tuck, Thigh Lift, Breast Lift- Oh My! (and a hernia repair and arm Lift Too) - Washington DC, DC

So last we left off, I was draining. Seems I shouldn't have been. My mother in law contracted MRSA. In a panic over my drainage, she made me go with her to the doctor who noticed my drainage. My surgeon was out of town on vacation so I was unable to see him. He said it wasn't normal for me to be draining like this and took a culture. I too got MRSA. In case you don't know, MRSA is a type of infection that is resistant to the traditional antibiotics like Amoxicillin or Neosporin. Staph is up the scale on infection and just a little higher is MRSA. I was given an antibiotic ointment to dab in my nostrils- seems MRSA loves to live there- who knew? I was also given 2 weeks of a strogn antibiotic. MRSA is common in hospitals from what I read on webmd, wiki, etc. I freaked out at first thinking I had necroticizing fasciitis, aka flesh-eating disease. I'm better, however my boyfriend and 2 of my kids got staph infections. Not sure if all related but MRSA tends to form a cluster, especially in families. Anywhoo, back to my recovery. other than the drainage and MRSA issue, it's been great. I can finally sleep on my stomach, my clothes are falling off my hips, I can cross my legs, and I love looking in the mirror. My stomach is still swollen and hard in some places but I know to expect that to slowly go down. I took a Q-tip to my belly button and let's just say I know belly buttons stink, but the smell that came out of mine was rank. Worse than any homeless person or stereotypical cab driver smell you can think of. Woof. Horrible smell- I try to clean it as well as I can now that it healed almost thoroughly but I know I can't quite dig in there yet. Not sure how skinny people clean their belly buttons since they never had the cave of wonders we big girls had, in being able to stick our fingers in our belly button. I can raise my arms above my head, however my right arm tenses up and doesn't reach as high as my left. I see my surgeon tomorrow for a follow up so I will ask him about that. I don't want to stretch or overdo any workouts- I just started lifting 3-5 lb hand weights to start toning my arms. My thigh lift scars have healed. My thighs are slightly swollen yet my range of motion is almost like before. The one thing I cant wait for is to see my chiropractor. Due to the tightness of my tummy tuck, I am constantly hunched over. When I stand up straight, it feels like I'm stretching my insides and I shouldn't be. Dr. Ramineni said I would be sore for months which is understandable and I am slowly doing exercises like sitting up straight at my desk at work to strengthen my back since I can't work out yet. It's been a hell of a ride, but so worth it. Pictures to come.

On Sun. Gabe and I decided to have a lazy Sun. I laid on the couch and he laid behind me as we watched TV. We have NEVER been able to do that. He was almost 700 lbs and I was creeping up to 400 lbs myself, so just us two laying together on a couch was a victory for us. My last remaining drains fell out that were coming out of my pubic mound. Thank God. I seem to be standing a tad straighter. New problem? The incisions at my butt creases have opened and sitting on the toilet, couch, chair, lifting, sleeping, laying, etc., is a [RS bleep]- the pain constant- as I shift to a less painful position. In addition, I've started to have tingling pains in different parts of my body- hopefully the nerves in those areas are jump starting like you would with a car battery. As mom knows best, I told my mom (my ex husband's mom- she and I are still very close- crazy I know- but it works for us) that I had realized I hadn't #2d in days- she asks me if I was still taking Percocet- told her yes- said there you go. Damn painkillers! I thought you were my friend! I have had Percs in the past and never really read the warnings and side effects that come with the Rx as I think that it doesn't apply to me. I start playing detective and googling "percocet side effects' and there it is. Constipation, dry mouth, sweating, cold chills, etc. I thought Percs and I were BFFs- now I know we are frenemies.

Bad moment of day: still draining, haven't pooped, butt crease hurts

Good moment of day: i went for a bra fitting at Victoria's Secret and can wear a 38C- wasn't that size since 7th grade. Bought some shirts at Old Navy- I can wear a womens Large now. Down from 3XL.

"after all, tomorrow is another day."- Scarlett O'Hara