The Beginning (Tummy Tuck, Lipo, BBL.)

The surgeon who botched that woman at Hospital Angeles was NOT my doctor. I wrote “not” in the review, but it casually dropped that out and won’t let me fix it. Yay.
My doctor (Dr. Puebla) has had no deaths and no serious complications. His receptionist has also been extremely patient with all of my two million and five questions. I’ll continue updating at all points of this journey. I’ll post “before” photos at some point.

This is the beginning. The research stage. The stage where anything that I choose can dramatically change the story that I’m writing.

Let’s start on how my body became shit wrecked. I got pregnant with twins, I had a uterine rupture at 28 weeks and 1 day. I have a very gnarly emergency c section scar. It doesn’t bother me, it’s a fair trade. I’m alive and I almost wasn’t. This scar is a reminder that I’m worthy of living.

That isn’t what did it though. When my twins were 6 months old, one of them was diagnosed with a brain tumor. That is its own special brand of hell. There is nothing worse in this world than knowing your money, your words, everything you can offer materially really, is useless. That’s where faith comes in. You start to have strong beliefs in God when you have no one else to turn to. He does listen. You’re worthy of love.

Luckily, God pointed me to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. They saved my daughter’s life. She is a living, breathing, miracle. That place is every bit as amazing as they claim to be. We love them. My daughter is 1 year out of treatment- they said that if the thing was going to come back, it already would have. No guarantees though.

Oh right, how the body got [RS bleep}. For a year and a half before we were at St. Jude, I was living in a hospital room with her in Ohio. I was too afraid to leave the room because any mistake no matter how small could have killed my daughter.

I gained weight like crazy. Hospital food and trash tv were my only sources of comfort and boy did it show. I gained 90 lbs while I was with her at that hospital. When we went to St. Jude, I started to lose all of the weight that I’d gained. I’m about 25-30 lbs away from my goal of 125. It’s been a full year since I’ve lost all of that extra weight.

I have saggy skin (sort of) and fat in fun places. My husband is a jerk, he likes shaking my lower belly at me. He’s being playful, but there’s nothing more that I’d like to do than to rip off that shelf of fupa and throw it at him.



I researched a lot and yes, I’m aware of all of the risks that people claim you’ll have when you’re leaving the U.S. for surgery. I’m going to Tijuana.



I’m going with Dr. Pedro Puebla. He’s a member in several associations and he’s board certified. I’ve verified all of this to be true, I’ve looked him up in all of the registeries. You can’t be too careful.



He performs surgeries in Hospital Angeles in Tijuana. The hospital itself only has 3.5 stars but the hospital that saved my life here in Ohio when I had my uterine rupture is 3.3. Hospital Angeles is .2 rated better than my Ohio hospital. In the reviews there is a woman who was very seriously botched by a surgeon during a mommy makeover. That was NOT my doctor who botched her, but I thought I’d point it out if you happened to see it in the hospital reviews.



Go look at it, this is why you have to read everything.



The hospital is roughly 5-7 miles away from the border. They’ll tell you that the nearby hotels are where you could stay- the ratings of the nearby hotels don’t seem like the route to go. They seem overly traveled, overly populated, and the complaints about smell/heat worry me for infections. The only plus is it’s right by the hospital.

I’m instead going to a recovery house. It’s called “Casa By Linda”. It’s about 12 miles away from major hospitals.

They’re by the ocean, they’re priced about the same as a hotel, they’re staffed 24/7 by nurses who oversee your care, they cover your food and they cover transportation. They have the option of massages and other things that you can pick up while you’re there for an additional fee.



I’ll review everything. I’ll take photos. I want you to be as informed, safe, and as happy as I will be. I’m bringing my husband- he’s a big burly red headed tattoo artist. My mother is a nurse and will care for my twins while we’re away.



We’ll be staying for 2 weeks and will be driving from Ohio to California. The burly tattoo man is afraid of airplanes. I’m aware you shouldn’t sit on your butt too much after a Bbl. I’m traveling with pillows, compression stockings, etc. We’ll be taking many breaks and I will have waited two weeks before chancing it.

You’re most at risk for bad things happening within the first 48 hours after surgery. Infections, embolisms, etc. That’s why I’m choosing a recovery house and I’m choosing the one with the highest rating who I can verify that is staffed with nurses who can recognize when bad stuff is happening.



Some of your risks are in your own hands.



I’ll update with “before” photos closer to my surgery in May/June 2024.



I’ll post a lot during. Hopefully I can ease your fears about traveling out of the U.S. I’m not going solely for a better price- I’m going so that my husband and I can stay in a warm place and have stellar aftercare. The price is a plus. For slightly more than a tummy tuck and Bbl here in Ohio, I can get a more qualified doctor and two weeks of nurse care- ocean front- with homemade food.



Should this go well, the biggest lie that I’ve ever been told is that you shouldn’t travel for surgery.



Height- 5”6

Highest weight- 210 lbs

Current weight- 145-152



I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. I’ve undergone anesthesia previously several times without issue.



I’ll keep updating everyone.