Four Weeks

Hello All!

Well, the doctors appointment went well yesterday. My drains have been pulled & I feel so much better!! I really hope that this is me on the road to healing right now. It feels so nice to have all that pressure relieved & now I'm starting to feel smaller. I'm still a bit puffy and swollen, but I'm still feeling a bit better about my results. I even felt well enough to go to a concert last night! There is a bit of a crease still where the belly button is. I will try and get photos in the next couple days, but I didn't want to take any tonight because at the end of the day I'm just extra puffy and swollen.

1,000 views & 22 followers! I appreciate everyone who has helped me get through the past four weeks!!

Day 24

Well....I'm back to being a couch potato while I recover from surgery #2. Thank goodness for the Olympics, I don't feel nearly as guilty parking myself in front of the television. I feel good other than the discomfort of the drains. It's strange because before I felt so much pressure with the binder because of the massive swelling from the hematoma & now I feel like I can't get it any tighter and don't feel as much pressure. The pictures from before don't really show how bad & big the swelling got & how deep the belly button was. The crease now still looks as though it goes deep, but I still just have some red scarring from having the skin pushed together from so much pressure and my belly button is way closer to the surface than before. I think that in a couple more weeks I'll be feeling so much better. My side profile already looks much improved. Overall, I'm happy to have this second surgery done and over with. The doctor also removed the steri strips that were covering my sides where the incision was. I must say, the scar is so thin & perfect. I know it's going to heal great!

The three nurses and the doctor said they had never seen anything quite like my hematoma. It feels like some sort of strange accomplishment. I came out of that surgery automatically walking straighter & with a huge feeling of relief. Tuesday will be my check-up & probably the day my drains will be removed. I've been draining normal, like how most people do after surgery, rather than dark blood, I have pinkish/yellow fluid. Once these are out I'm going to be enjoying my results way more.

I appreciate everyone checking in on me. I haven't been too responsive with all the craziness of the past week and a half. I'm going to try and post pictures once weekly & I will post again after my check-up appointment. I can't believe it's already going to be 4 weeks soon! Granted, I'm not on track with most tummy tuckers at the 4 week stage, but I'm slowly getting there.

k

Update after surgery #2

Yesterday's surgery went very smooth and i'm home recovering with little pain. I am having a bit of dizziness from the pain killers and have almost fainted a couple times. must admit that getting rid of that hematoma feels soooooooooooooooooo much better & i'm much flatter, fewf! I'll post pictures when I can support myself a bit better. I'll share more detailed info as well.

Day 20-Surgery #2

Doctors appointment today brought some relief and frustration. When he took a look at me he said that he wanted to try and stick a needle in me to drain some of my hematoma. He proceeded to stick a needle in me and drain out a large amount of blood. After taking out some blood, he said he just needed to get in there and do what he should have done a while ago...surgery. So now I'm scheduled for two days from now to have surgery to open up my incision again, get rid of the hematoma, and place some sort of sutures that will take care of the problem for good! He said that he's never experienced a hematoma like this before and that he's never had to have a post-op surgery ever before. He said that it's common for hematoma for people who have lost a lot of weight, something about larger arteries and extra space or something along those lines. The great news is that I'll finally have some relief & he said it's going to make my results look soooooo much better...Fewf! The downside is that I will have drains again after the surgery...sigh.

Well, that's my day 20 update! I walked 17 blocks home! I'm just starting to feel a bit normal again, but I know this will make me feel physically and mentally better once this procedure is over.

Day 18/19

I feel as though I haven't had much as far as updates go. My goal is to now post every few days with progress pictures or once a major milestone occurs. For the time being, I'm alive, healing, but still hunched over. I feel as though my energy is back & I can get around quite good. The only thing that keeps me from getting out and about too much is the back pain I get from my binder. However, I did manage to get through most the weekend during a work event without the thought of any pain crossing my mind. I was running around like crazy and keeping up with everything that needed to be done. My wound from my tubes is healing! No longer do I have to run to change the gauze every couple of hours and it's starting to feel like I'm getting back to normal.

Yesterday I had a post-birthday outing with my boyfriend to go shopping. I knew I didn't want to spend too much as I'm still very swollen. I did manage to walk away with three dresses! I'm going to wait to continue on any additional shopping until the swelling starts to subside.

As far as the swelling goes...I'm feeling very heavy & sore on my stomach where the swelling is. It's not puffy swelling, but rather a really hard underbelly. I also have what I had read about many of times before my surgery....I have the dreaded "ken doll"....aside from the package and stomach, I'm feeling pretty good. The doctor requested that I come in for an appointment tomorrow, a week earlier than previously scheduled. I'm curious to hear what he's going to say about my progress. I just have a feeling that this swelling is not normal and that what I'm experiencing has to do with my hematoma. Last night I started bruising on my stomach as well, so we'll see!

I'll be sure to post if anything major happens tomorrow!

Two Weeks

Overall, being back to work isn't as bad as I thought it would be, but the past two days have really hit me hard. Wednesday I pushed myself way to hard & payed for it. That left me in a state of constant yawning today & feeling overall exhausted. I'm a bit nervous to think about tomorrow and Saturday because I have a huge event at work. I'm fortunate enough to have very thoughtful co-workers who have so generously demanded that I sit in a comfortable office chair throughout the whole event.

In other news....my gaping whole where my drains were is starting to close already! I know that we wanted to have it drain more, but it feels so nice not having to run to change the gauze every hour or two. I've started putting polysporin on it in hopes that it will help reduce infection & heal faster. But having that whole close is making me feel even more human again. Now if I can just stand up straight!!! I'm getting faster each day, but yeah, I'm still walking like i'm walking slow and hunched over.

I'm going to keep this one short and sweet tonight. I'll update on the weekend if I survive work for the next couple days. I do see the swelling slowly going down, so hopefully a couple days from now I'll have more pictures to post. I'm also going to try and brave the scale just out of curiosity, but I know that swelling will be affecting that outcome.

K

Day 12/13-Changes

Day 12 & 13 have been challenging & filled with lots of highs and lows! So many changes!!!!!

Let's start with Monday....I had the doctors appointment in the morning & was desperate to get out the drains!!! The irritation was driving me to tears. At the appointment they took one look and said that the drains would stay until Thursday. I started draining more on the weekend, my assumption is that this was due to me being more active. The nurse said that I have a hematoma...my knowledge is very little on what this is...but basically this explains as to why I drain blood, whereas most people drain a yellowish fluid. At the end of the appointment I was feeling pretty good about knowing that Thursday was going to be the day & I was confident that I could make it through!!

Flash forward to Monday afternoon....the drain incision started to bleed. It was incredibly disgusting & irritating. I tried not to pay too much attention, but as the night went on, it kept getting worse and worse. On top of that, the right drain seemed to moved far enough out of the incision that the drain holes were exposed & leaking air to the bulb & making it no longer effective. After a shower I had finally had enough & packed myself with gauze & laid flat for the remaining of the night. It was an incredibly long, sleepless night wanting to know what would happen & feeling so desperate to get to the doctors.

This morning I got to go to the doctors office again. I'm starting to feel a bit like an inconvenience and a bit like a hypochondriac. The doctor came in and took a look and automatically started pulling out the tubes. It wasn't painful, but it was a strange sensation! It feels so great to have them removed!! The doctor said that I will continue to drain blood from the incision, and probably lots. So far he's been right haha. I've been placing gauze over the incision and a pad as well. The blood has been quite a lot, but it's so much better than having the drains. He expected that it will continue to drain for the next week.

Monday was also my first day at work, which went fine. I've been treated with a lot of care at work & I've been taking it easy. I have a huge event on Friday and Saturday that will have me on my feet and running around all day. I'm a bit nervous, but at least my co-workers are very understanding and will let me rest when I need it.

Well, tomorrow is already two weeks out! It feels like it was so long ago....Today i'm incredibly swollen from my side view, but I'm noticing some changes in my frontal view. I wish the next couple of months would go by, that I could start to feel more human, and I can get a better sense of my results and if I'll need revisions. I'm desperate to get back to the gym & tone up and try and improve my results & other parts of my body that I wouldn't notice because all the focus was on my flabby tummy. I'm still very hunched over, but each day is getting better!!

K