Since I've started this blog, it's opened the door to many discussions with friends and family. How exactly is the surgery done (most regret asking this question!)? What about the scar? What is the recovery like? What are you most concerned about?
All great questions, and I've spent over a year researching and gaining information on these very topics. A bit of what I've learned...
So, how's it done? Basically the surgeon is cutting off part of my belly—all the extra skin and fat from my pregnancies—then he'll sew me back together. Oh, and he'll cut around my belly button, make a new hole for it, and sew it back down. I'll also have some liposuction down around my back hip area to give me back that "hourglass" shape. That's it, in a nutshell. Ha!
The scar is going to be big, from one hip to the other. It will be low along the bikini line, so (supposedly!) I'll still be able to wear a two-piece swimsuit (not likely!). Since I am not the type of person to flaunt my body around, I could care less about the scar. I have been told that you do lose some feeling around that area, which I already have a sense of due to my C-section scar.
Recovery...Oh, it's not going to be fun. I'll be sent home after the surgery with a pain pump, and I'll also have oral pain and sleeping meds to take. I'll have to sleep curled up in a recliner for a while. And I am so blessed to have parents who are willing to take care of me for a week, so I'll stay at their house to recoup. Not that I don't love my kids, but it would be difficult to relax and heal with my kiddos all over me. They will visit, stay for dinner, etc., then go back home. Plus I don't think my dear husband could handle taking care of my every need AND take care of our children at the same time. He's great, but he's not Superman.
As far as what I am most concerned about, that's a complicated question for me to answer. It mainly relates to how this decision is going to affect the people around me. I am very concerned about all the inconvenience this surgery is going to cause for the people in my life. Is it fair for me to ask my husband to take a week off of work AND take care of the kids, house, pets, etc? Is it fair to ask my parents to care for me, feed me, assist me in practically all that I do for a week? Is it selfish to take 2 weeks off of work and have my employer pay for a replacement?
And then there's this other part to it. I know I am doing this to myself. No one is forcing me. It's not medically necessary. It's pretty much 100% selfish on my part. Pretty much self-inflicted pain! So do I have the right to complain about the pain? Should I expect get-well cards or sympathy in any shape or form? Are people (my husband, kids, parents, coworkers) going to resent me for doing this? How do I make it up to them?
