Mini Tummy Tuck with Hernia and Muscle Repair - Trail, BC

Hi everyone! I am a 27 year old mom of two amazing kids, they are 4 and 6 years old!

For the past two years I have dieted and exercised religiously; I typically follow a combination of powerlifting and bodybuilding and over the past two years have completely changed my body...I have leaned out and gained a lot of muscle but still have not been able to fix my lower abs so I finally decided it was time to do something so I could truly benefit from, and see all the hard work I have put into myself!

I live in a small town and was prepared to travel for a good plastic surgeon but I heard incredible reviews from a close local PS so I decided to schedule a consult with him first.

In March I had my first and only consult with Dr DeGreef. He was incredibly thorough...he explained everything in technical terms but then broke it down so I could understand, he was patient and never made me feel like I was rushed or like my questions were stupid. He took lots of notes and pictures as well. I simply told him I didn't like my stomach and wanted to fix it and upon examination he came up with/discovered everything I wanted to hear.

As it stands I have a small umbilical hernia, and I also have diastasis rectus from having kids. What he plans to do is make two tiny incisions around my belly button to fix the hernia and stitch my muscles back together. He will then pull my skin down, readjust my belly button, and remove the excess skin while utilizing as small an incision as possible, as low as possible. The two incisions around my belly button should be mostly hidden within my new belly button. This will all be done simply under local anesthetic, and no drains should be required. I was able to choose the option of being put under but it would have raised my cost from $1100 to approximately $3000 so I decided to just grin and bare the surgery and spare my wallet lol.

I loved how Dr DeGreef sympathized with my current state of stomach, and validated my emotions as well as was willing to perform all of the above whilst still just performing a "mini tuck".

My consult was in March but due to unfortunate circumstances I had to postpone till September 26th which is now only two days away!

Due to the "minimal" nature of my surgery no additional consults were required, so I'll just be seeing my surgeon day of at noon to go over everything once more and then the procedure will be performed right away! It's supposed to only take an hour at most.

I won't lie I feel a little unaware as to how everything will happen during/after, or what exactly it will entail or the recovery but my intuition is still telling me to go for it because of all the good reviews and how well my consult went.
That being said based on what I have read I've taken a week and a half off work, and also my kids will be with their dad for a full week instead of our usual 3/4 day rotating schedule.
I will be pretty much all alone after my surgery so I thoroughly cleaned the house and prepped a bunch of food so I won't have to cook after my surgery. I cut up a ton of fruit and made a veggie bacon quiche for breakfasts, broiled salmon and made up some Mason jar salads for lunches, and also cooked a pot of turkey pumpkin chili for dinner. I've stocked my bedside with water bottles, juice, and protein bars along with my multivitamins, omegas, and arnica tablets.

Fingers crossed I'll survive this alone Hahaha. On Monday morning (day of surgery) I'll take my before photos!

Augh my surgery is tomorrow! I can hardly believe it!!

Is it crazy I'm thinking of fixing my hair dye and giving myself a mani tonight? ???? I figure I won't be up for doing such things for a while so I kinda wanna be on it lol.....

Also got my period Saturday and I'm really hoping that doesn't affect anything, I absolutely can't have this canceled now that I'm so close!!! Has anyone else experienced this? I was certainly never given a warning so I'm assuming it should be okay.....fingers crossed! Augh how will I sleep tonight??

Well here I sit and wait....apparently they are "way behind" but at least I'm here! Was definitely experiencing some anxiety but also excited....now that I've been waiting though I just want it over with but I have a feeling those feelings will come back when they call my name lol.

I figured I would use this time to upload some before pictures though! I can't believe I'm sharing these but it's so exciting to think that in a mere hour or two I won't have to be embarrassed of this anymore!