Three Years out from Facelift and Revision -- Still Totally Thrilled at 62

Wrote this whole darn thing out and lost it. I'll try one more time.
Four years ago I looked tired and irritable all the time. In fairness, sometimes I was, but not always! I'd always had a chubby neck and jawline, but now I was getting jowls and a generally droopy face.
I am 100% in favor of plastic surgery if you do it for healthy reasons -- i.e., to please yourself, not somebody else and if you realize it is going to change your face, not your whole life. If you can afford it, have reasonable expectations, and have done your homework thoroughly, I'm generally all for it.
So when I found myself feeling tired because I looked tired, I had no hesitation. I asked people in the field for recommendations and they came back with Dr Stephen Perkins at Meridian Plastic Surgery in Indianapolis, about an hour and a half from where I live. My first appointment with Perkins was great -- I didn't need to talk to anyone else.
When you show up for your first appointment at his office, someone takes your picture from multiple angles. I knew I was in trouble when they made me take off my scarf. I was very attached to scarves back then.
While Dr. Perkins and I sat in front of a mirror and dissected my appearance, the photo whiz in the other room was photoshopping my pix to show what I would look like if I had the various procedures Dr. Perkins recommended. I looked grouchy in the "befores", and much less likely to scare small children in the "afters." I wonder if there is a soul on earth who doesn't pull out her checkbook when she sees those photos.
I scheduled a neck lift, lower face lift, endoscopic brow lift, and lower blepharoplasty. He suggested an upper bleph too but I decided against it. When I went in for a revision on my neck a year later, I ended up having it done, as well as an upper lip lift and lower lip advancement a year later and a CO2 ablative laser on my face a year after that.
(Obviously, plastic surgery is a lot like getting a new carpet. Suddenly you notice your couch is dingy, and before you know it you want all new furniture too. ????)
Anyway. I scheduled the surgery in early May and planned to stay all night to make the travel easier and just to leave the worries in professional hands. The facility was great except that they had no ice cream. If you are going to have your face carved up, you definitely need ice cream. My husband had to run out and get me a couple of pints before he drove back home to feed the pets.
But I digress. I arrived early in the morning on surgery day, put on a gown, got covered up with warm blankets, and drove the nurses crazy with my disappearing veins. The anesthesiologist finally had to numb my arm to set up the IV. Fortunately, I am used to this.
Then Dr. Perkins came in to mark up my face and the nurses twisted my hair up into little pigtails so they could do the brow lift. By now my drugs had kicked in and I looked like a demented clown.
And then... I woke up. I had a bandage around my head, drains coming from the back of my neck, and no ice cream, but my pain was managed well. I didn't sleep too much but the nurses walked me around whenever I wanted to get my blood moving and they were good company. In the morning the drains came out and they washed my hair. Bliss. Four years later I can remember how good it felt.
Then we drove home, where I slept every night sitting up in a recliner in our bedroom and all was well until I developed an allergy to my antibiotic. I looked like a puffer fish with hives and we had to go to the local ER where they filled me up with antihistamines. Soon I was back to looking like an ordinary accident victim.
It took a few months for the swelling to subside but with makeup I was good to go in a week or so. I went through an endearing chubby-faced stage where I looked a lot like my twelve year old self, only wiser.
I saw Perkins for several follow ups throughout the year and we both agreed that the skin on my neck could be tightened up. He offered to do revisions without me asking and charged me only for the OR and anesthesiologist, and the upper bleph I tacked on literally at the last minute. We did this almost a year after the original procedure. Again I stayed over night and again my husband had to make an ice cream run.
Home the next day after being de-drained and hair washed and this time recovery was quick. No hives, less swelling, great results and three weeks later I felt totally fine.
Since then, as I said, I had a lip lift which I LOVE and a CO2 laser which I hated -- the most painful procedure by far, though I have to admit my skin looks good. It just hurt, as you would expect if you consider that you've had your face burned off. Still, it passed and I am fine and happy.
At my last visit I had a final set of photos taken. I now have the originals, the ones before the facelift revision, ones before the lip lift, and a final set taken just a few weeks ago. If you can avoid being distracted by the colors of my hair, I think you'll see a dramatic change. Dr. Perkins is super skilled and I will definitely keep seeing him for maintenance (Botox and fillers) and for any future furniture replacement I decide I need.