Ready for a "New" Me! - Cypress, TX

I am a 42 year old mom of three. My oldest son is 19, my middle daughter is 11 and I have a 2 year old son. (Big spread!) I have been wanting a tummy tuck since the birth of my daughter. I have never been blessed with a flat stomach, even as a teenager. It has always been something I am self conscious about and I am so ready to be able to wear a fitted shirt and not be embarrassed by my jelly rolls! I am a school teacher so I am squeezing this in at the end of my summer. I have plenty of help between my husband, mom and MIL so I'm hoping I will have enough time to recover before returning to work. (@ 3 1/2 weeks - 4 before students return)
I had my consultation on Monday, July 15th with Dr. Kristi Sumpter. I am actually going forward without seeing any other surgeons because 3 of my friends have been to her with awesome results and recommendations. My pre-op appointment is scheduled for tomorrow. She will take my before pics, answer more questions and go over all the risks in great detail. My payment is due tomorrow as well. My surgery date is July 23rd and I will be going in for a full abdominoplasty with lipo to the upper abdomen, waist, hips and back bra area. I have really enjoyed this site. I have spent HOURS reading reviews and looking at before and after pics. I think I am in a really good place and I fully understand what the surgery entails and what kind of recovery is ahead of me.

I had my pre op appt. on Thursday. I had to go over all the paperwork that details the surgery along with all of the risks. It is very scary to read what *could* happen. I'm just trying to stay focused on the positives. The doctor explained what will happen the day of the surgery, answered questions and showed me what the drain looked like and how to take care of it. She also took the dreaded "before" pictures. My husband took some tonight too so I will try to upload those tomorrow.
I went to the store and got some tank tops and pro-biotics to take after the surgery. I also have some Arnica tablets and cream to use and picked up my antibiotics, nausea meds and pain pills. I think I am almost set! I am really feeling anxiety creep in. I start to wonder if I am making the right decision and fear that something could happen and I will leave my kids without a mother. From what I am reading it seems pretty normal but it is still unnerving.

I had my surgery on Tuesday morning. I got checked into the surgery center, changed into a gown and took a pregnancy test and they started my IV. The doctor came in to chat at mark me for the lipo and surgery. She was very reassuring and told me she would take good care of me. After that I met the anesthesiologist and they led me back to the operating room. They had me lay on warm towels and said they would put something in my IV to make me more comfortable. Next think I know I was waking up in the recovery room! No big complaints yet except some soreness and nausea from meds. I've thrown up twice and that is definitely no fun. I haven't even seen my stomach yet. My appt with Dr. Sumpter is today at 1:00. I will try to take some pics with my phone. I had a dream yesterday that she took off all the bandages and my tummy looked the same as before surgery. Has that ever happened to anyone else?