24 days Post OP

Here I am at day 24 Post Op. I wish I could say that things are going as well as I hoped. In reality, I am starting to think that this is as good as it's going to get. The swelling in my upper torso is going down. There is no change in my lower love-handle area. My belly is looking great. It still amazes me when I look down and see straight through to my thighs.

I have begun my scar treatment. I am using an organic oil and a scar cream. This has been interesting. When I rub the oil on the dis-solvable stitches that are close to the surface rub off. I have learned something about myself during this process. I am a scab picker :o There was this one scab just barely holding on. I tried to clip it but it wouldn't cut. Word of advice to others... DON'T PULL ANYTHING OFF!!! Most of the thing was not attached. I pulled one little itty bitty section and a huge hole opened up. Ok, maybe not huge but more than I expected. Everything else is going well.

The PS cleared me to start walking last week, I was being lazy and didn't start right away. Yesterday I finally found my motivation. 2 miles all together. 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. My goal was just 1 mile. Before the TT walking would leave me with terrible back pain and muscle spasms. I felt great. A little knee pain from the arthritis but that's about it. I felt so good I walked again. If I keep this up, my thunder thighs will firm up and match my awesome flat tummy.

My daughter had her senior prom on Saturday. She was beautiful. (I will ask her if I can share her pic) I kept looking at her gown thinking one day I will be able to wear something as glamorous as that. I thought about it and thought about it. I just had to see if I could get in it. I put it on and it fit! I was in a size 12 evening gown. I can't even come close to explaining how big this is. The last gown I bought for myself was a size 16 and that was a bit tight. That was the motivation I needed to clean out my closet and get rid of my fat clothes. I said goodbye to my 2 and 3X loose tent dresses I wore to hide my roll. Gone are the XL tops that served the same purpose. Now I feel like a new person. Am I perfect now? Am I at my ultimate goal? Do I have the body for a magazine cover? Not in the least. But I am so much better than I used to be. For now... that is enough.

I will continue to eat right, exercise, and work on maintaining my positive attitude. The fact that the PS has offered to do lipo if I'm not satisfied is also a plus. I will do my part to loose what I can and let him take care of the rest.

Sending happy thoughts and prayers for happy healthy healing to you all.

Comparison pics added. I need to do some work on my back and start saving up for BA. My chest is almost as flat as my new tummy.

I had my follow-up yesterday. I had my last drain removed and could not be happier. I told the doc that it was hurting and oozing gunk the last time I went in. He looked at it and said it was fine. It was NOT fine. He was not feeling my pain. Even after clipping the stitch it still hurt like heck. Anyway, when he came in the room he asked if I was ok. He said I looked nervous. Again I said the drain was giving me soo much pain. He did the doctor thing and explained that the drains were a necessary evil. After I explained again that the other drain did not hurt, my incision did not hurt, nothing in this entire process hurt but that drain, he took pity on me and yanked it out right away. He said that I still had a lot of swelling. I asked if he was sure it was swelling? He reassured me that if it wasn't swelling we would go in for lipo if I still wasn't satisfied with the results in 6 months or so. He still recommends the binder and no strenuous activities for 4 more weeks. My binder looks like an over sized ace bandage. I can wrap it around almost twice now. What do you ladies have?

I was able to put on normal clothes yesterday. I think that did the trick. Even though I am still wide around the middle, I do not have a big fat floppy belly hanging over. Being in jeans is painful though. The waistband hits right at my incision. My pants are actually sliding down. Talk about amazing... I was able to fit in my daughters belt. She wasn't too thrilled. She thinks i'm going to start stealing her clothes. She's right of course. Give me a few more months and it's going to be cute little tank tops and T-shirts. All the things she has in her closet that I would never buy for myself.

I understand now what others were talking about with the emotional roller coaster. One day I am loving my new body and accepting that this is a process. I am able to reassure myself that it gets better. I can tell myself that I did not get big over night and even with the surgery, I can't expect to be small over night. Then there are the days where I don't cut myself any slack. I look in the mirror and still see the poor lonely fat girl. I don't want to be that person anymore.

I accept that I have limitations. I accept that this is a process. I accept that what I see now is not the final product. I accept ME!!!

New pics coming soon. I can't wait to see the comparison.

Sending prayers of peace to those anxiously awaiting their date, prayers for a speedy and uneventful recovery to those on the other side, and... Happy thoughts to all!!!