Face, Neck, and Brow Lift Plus Fat Transfer - Bellevue, WA

It's been awhile since I wrote anything here, so I guess maybe it's time to catch you all up on things. First of all, I'm SO glad I had this done! Not a day goes by that I'm not grateful for the wonderful work that Dr. Naficy did and how incredibly natural the result is. I'm never shy about telling people I've had a facelift, but they're always shocked when I tell them. Even friends who have known me for years haven't said anything but, "You look great!"
Also, having a younger looking face is a great incentive to stay in shape.
The success I had with the PS also prompted me to get my eyes fixed. Not only was I sick of wearing glasses, but it was to the point where I couldn't FIND my glasses without my glasses on! I didn't have cataracts, but I had what's often called 'cataract surgery.' The doctor removed the lenses in my eyes and replaced them with Crystal Lens. Now, my vision is 20/20 and I love it! Not cheap, of course, but well worth it, and the surgery itself was easy peasy. MUCH easier than what friends have told me about Lasik!
The only thing I haven't been especially happy with, cosmetic procedure-wise, has been some filler I had (at a different doctor's office) last year. The filler under my right eye has moved south somewhat and I now have a ridge there that bothers me. Plus, the nurse who did the injection hit a vein and I got a massive bruise under my eye which left a thin brown line that only emphasizes the puffiness. I went back and asked if they could fix it, but the doctor tried to argue that the puffiness had always been there so I decided not to make a stink about it. One of these days, I'll get back to Dr. Naficy's and get the filler removed and replaced, but at the moment work is keeping me close to home.
I'll add a picture here to catch you up. This is me, age 62!

I had to have a picture taken today, so I thought it might be a good idea to give you a quick update to go with it. In short, I'm feeling really good. Not just physically, but mentally as well. Maybe it's just the next stage in this whole FL recovery thing, maybe it's just the first signs of Spring. Either way, it's nice. That's not to say that my face feels exactly like it did, pre-op. I still have residual numbness on my scalp and along my jawline, and some continuing tightness in my neck, but honestly, it hardly bothers me anymore. I knew going in that nerve regeneration would take awhile, so the numbness isn't surprising, and at this point I think that I'd be more worried if my neck didn't feel a little tight. Knowing myself, I'd just start worrying that it was reverting to its old ways. The thing I'm happiest about is how natural the changes look. No puckers, no telltale scars, no asymmetry that might tell people I'd had work done. Not that I'm keeping it a big secret—I'm actually pretty open about having had a FL—but I wouldn't want to think that that was the first thing someone thought of when they saw me. In fact, when I do tell someone I've had a FL, their first impulse is to think I'm kidding. LOL. It's like when I tell them I'm 60 and they say, "No, you can't be." I feel like saying, "Would I tell anyone I was 60 if I wasn't?" The other nice thing is that I'm okay with not doing anything more. I'm happy with my face the way it is. It doesn't feel like anything but me now.

I have, on occasion, been accused of being someone who can't take yes for an answer. It's not that I don't like good news or appreciate it when things turn out well. Maybe it's just knowing that nothing lasts forever. I mean, who wants to look like a dope in the face of the inevitable? Because of that, I'm always preparing myself for the worst, even though (to be honest) it almost never happens.

Case in point: Last week, I got this sharp pain behind my left ear. Not immediately behind my ear, but on that bone behind it. You know the one. It was tender, and every time I pressed it with my finger, it hurt. I pressed it a few more times—maybe only forty or fifty—just to be sure. Yup. Still hurt.

So, how did I react to this sudden tenderness, you ask? Did it occur to me that I'd just increased the intensity of my workout? That I'd recently hauled a thirty pound bag of cat litter into the house? That I'd spent five hours writing at my computer and might possibly have pulled a stiff muscle? Nooo. I came to the perfectly logical conclusion that whatever was anchoring the tightened muscles back there had come loose and at any moment the entire left side of my face was going to droop like a spinnaker on a windless day.

My husband—who faces impending disaster with an almost inhuman calm—was no help. He told me it was probably nothing, but that if I was really worried I should maybe ask the doctor. Poor deluded man. He was going to feel pretty foolish when it turned out I was right this time. Besides, what could the doctor do?

It's been eight days, and so far the face hasn't fallen. And in spite of my vigilance (there, I pressed it again) the tender spot isn't as tender as it was. Maybe it was just a strained muscle after all. Still, it never hurts to be prepared.