So Happy I Did It

I'm 53. Jowls had begun - the beginning of the aging droop. After doing AirSculpt in January of this year (you can read my positive review here), I felt inspired to do something a little more drastic. The cost in the US, though, for an excellent surgeon, is cost prohibitive, so I began to look into medical tourism. I'm so glad I did because I found Dr. Nashielli. She is a true artist who cares deeply about the quality of her work and her patients. Let me start with that part because her team was a huge part of why this was such a good experience. A wonderful expat - Lori - works as her cruise director (best way to describe her). English is Lori's first language, so she was always there on every call and every visit to make sure the translation was clear. She also takes you everywhere you need to go in the hospital - for the pre-op tests, etc. - and coordinates with the caregivers so you're always cared for and comfortable. She checked in constantly to see if I needed anything.

Then, the caretakers - this is optional, but highly recommended. Dr. Nashielli and Lori work closely with this beautiful, lovely couple Emma and Luis. Emma has a business where she houses, feeds, and cares for people doing medical tourism. Luis, her husband, drove me to every appointment and even to the airport at 3am and made sure I was completely set before leaving. They are wonderful, special people. I can't say enough good about them. It's not so often you meet people whose hearts are this big and who I honestly was sad to say goodbye to when I left. I consider them my friends now (Lori too!) and next time I'm in Guadalajara, I'll spend time with them for sure. Anyway, I stayed in the apartment on their property (they also have a recovery house with rooms and private bathrooms). Emma brought me three meals a day, ice water to use for swelling, and lots and lots of tea. I basically stayed in bed and worked on my computer and watched movies and TV shows for the ten days I was there.

Now for the surgery: maybe this seems naive, but I don't think I truly understood what I was getting into until the day of the surgery. Luis helped me check into the hospital and stayed with me in my room until the nurse arrived to prep me for surgery. I had become quite nervous at this point, but everyone was so kind, which helped. They rolled me up to the OR waiting area. Dr. Nashielli came to say hello and introduced me to the nurse who would be assisting her and the guapo anesthesiologist. I was like, hi there, doctor anesthesiologist. I know you're about to see the inside of my face, but just remember that in about a month I'm going to be stunning *wink wink*. They rolled me again into the OR, Dr. Anesthesiologist gave me those sweet sweet drugs, and I was out. Apparently, the surgery took 6 hours! But if you've ever had surgery, you know that you go to sleep, and next thing you know you wake up to them saying your name and telling you they're done.

Something I really admired about Dr Nashielli is she cared about real, natural beauty. She has a couple pieces of art in her office that are Picasso-esque as a way to represent the fact that she honors that human faces are naturally asymmetrical. Did I take a photo of one of the pieces of art and send it to my friends back home - who were worried about me - and say they were real life photos of her patients post-facelift? You know I did. I also sent a photo of a troll after the surgery and wrote, "She's a miracle worker!" Har har, they said. This didn't calm their concern.

After the surgery, your face is wrapped, Goodnight Mommy style. And they wrapped my stomach because she takes fat from your stomach area and puts fat into numerous spots on your face! I was so happy about that. I have like no wrinkles now! I asked her if she could take *all* the fat from my stomach and put it anywhere else, but she said six hours of surgery was enough. As they rolled me back to my room for recovery, I was fluent in Spanish. Apparently, I'm fluent in Spanish when on drugs. I need to remember that.

This is where the photos come in. The first one is the Goodnight Mommy photo - same day as the surgery. You have to sleep sitting up, but at some point in the night a nurse came in and injected some sort of amazing drug - morphine? dilaudid? Oxy? No clue, but while it was meant to help me sleep, I tried hard to stay awake so I could enjoy how freaking good I felt. Speaking of drugs, Luis took me to the pharmacy before the day of my surgery to get all my prescriptions - anti-inflammatories, anti-biotic, pain reliever, stuff like that. You can get a lot of stuff there, too, that doesn't require a prescription, such as Tramadol, of which I bought a bunch. I used it to help me sleep during my recovery, and I also brought a bunch home.

The photos span three weeks. I was verrrry swollen, but I didn't have a ton of bruising. The first week I didn't recognize myself in the mirror. Also, I had to wait 6 days to get the disgusting drain out. Once it was out, I started taking short walks, but I tired easily and still took naps pretty much every day. Three weeks later, there is only one spot on my neck that is still a little swollen. The stitches are almost completely dissolved. Parts of my neck and ears are still kind of numb and tight but nothing like when my face was double in size from the swelling. I feel like I'm seeing the real results. I was told it takes 6 months for full results, which means I'll only be happier over time.