"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start,
anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." ~ Anonymous

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

One Year Post Op - I Healed Great!

One year ago today I had skin removal surgery on my stomach, technically an abdominoplasty and more commonly known as a tummy tuck.  (Though I hate saying "tummy tuck" because it sounds so superficial and mine was after a long, hard journey getting healthier...not just because I didn't want to deal with a pudgy tummy, but I digress..)

Today I am going to share exactly how I feel on a physical level with regards to healing and scarring; and another day I'm going to share how I feel about this anniversary on an emotional level. 

One year later and my scars are doing just fine.  I do have some pudginess on my sides and my tummy feels "soft" due to the 20 pounds I have gained, but I still have a relatively flat stomach.  (note:  It makes my thighs and chest look bigger!! Sometimes that's good and sometimes not. lol)

Right away I was confident I had done the right thing and I have thanked my husband many times over the last year for financing this surgery.  Prior to my surgery I had maintained a 70-pound weight loss for over a year and the only thing I disliked that I couldn't seem to get rid of was my stomach that just hung down in my pants and almost touched the floor when I did planks or the like. 

Well, it occurred to me, after watching a weight loss show, that my stomach might be more of a skin issue than a weight issue and a consultation with the doctor confirmed that.   I was delighted and after my husband returned from a deployment we went ahead with it. 

I had no complications whatsoever and everything healed up just as it should.  Next week I go in for my one-year followup and I know he won't find anything wrong.  It was a long slow process of healing, but I was well prepared for what was coming, followed my doctor's orders and I healed just fine.  

Having the excess skin removed from my abdomen was like a dream come true for me.

If surgery would never have been feasible for me I would have been able to be content without it.  However, having surgery was like the proverbial icing on the cake of my weight loss success and I feel tremendously blessed to have had it done.  

One thing I have really enjoyed over the last year is wearing dresses without a full body girdle to keep things smooth.   And when I tried on an empire-waist dress and it didn't look like a maternity dress due to my little pudgy belly I was thrilled.  

I will try and post pictures by the end of the week.  I was supposed to have my daughter take some, but got I got distracted that day and forgot.  Photo proof is always nice for me, a visual learner, so I will not leave you hanging either.  :)

Have a good day! 

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