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Sally Annie's Tummy Tuck Story: Sometimes Things Don't Go As Well As We'd Hoped
I joined a slimming club in January 2000, after 10 years at least of being big it was time I did something about it, I first weighed in at 16 stones 2lb, (note: a stone is 14 lb) that I knew was definitely not me at my biggest, I had at one point gone up past 17 stones.
Anyway it took me till August the same year to loose that 6 stones!
During my weight loss I had been noticing one thing that bothered me, it was my tummy, the amount of skin on it hanging there! It had by then appeared obvious that it was not going to shift, I had taken up exercising my tummy muscles as much as I could, witch was every day, but it was not shifting but I could see my tummy muscles underneath my skin! It was horrid to say the least.
I had in July decided I needed to ask an expert so visited my doctor about this skin.
He told me that yes this was excess skin with no elastic left in it, and would not return back where it belonged, so with that he had decided to refer me to the plastic surgeon on our island, bad move! The letter he wrote was never replied to I went back every 3 months to my doctor for that year until he actually phoned Nobles (our hospital) and was told that he should have wrote to Dr. Hancock himself in the first place.
Which he did, I had to wait yet another year for this, these two years have been the longest years of my life.
The second time I saw the doctor in October I think, I had decided to give up smoking for this operation, in which the doctor gave me a prescription for Zyban which I took for 2 months I did quit the fags (aka cigarettes) and I am still fag free now! But saying that the has been many a time I would have been only too happy to smoke again but I am not planning to put another cigarette in my mouth again!
My feelings and self conciseness were up and down, a few things can be remembered so many times and still to this day as I am still waiting the date being 21/4/02, my tummy hangs their on my body and as much as I want to feel good I don't feel good about myself I feel ugly and deformed somewhat, I do not feel this is cosmetic surgery but reconstructive.
I can were a lovely dress that may be a little figure hugging, but if I do not wear a body controlling pair of knickers you can see the apron of skin through the dress, its quite upsetting, but when I wear the control knickers in my dress I look 5 months pregnant, as the skin is gathered up into an area in front of my tummy, not much of a choice is it?
I am phoning up every so often asking for a date but none to this date has been given I phoned last week and was told I wont get a date till July, I will not call them again?
I am so scared though, I am frightened of blood clots mostly, but then pain, I am real scared of pain too, I felt that giving up the cigarettes would help with the healing of my scars, as you can imagine I have tried to read everything on the net about tummy tucks!
I have yet to see an operation or a real life person who has had one.
Yesterday I found the site of cosmetic surgery again! I am not sure how I lost touch with them, but I was delighted to find them again, I wrote a post to debi and she filled me in on a TV station that wanted a candidate for tummy tuck to get in touch with so they could follow the tummy tuck op and pre op etc, well I would probably help if I can.
Wednesday 19th June!!
I have received the letter I have been waiting for, for three years!
Oh boy I am getting my tummy tuck done, it's on the 5th of July I go away to get it on the Saturday 6th of July I think they do the operation. It felt like a load of Christmases all come together. I am actually not scared at this point! I had to phone Whiston hospital the moment I received the letter, which I did immediately! Confirmed I would most definitely be there on that day! I now have to get my bloods (blood tests) done over here.
When I phoned to book for flying over there, I was told that my sister can fly free with me as its such a big operation! So that was great as I was told I would not be allowed to have someone accompany me for free but this time they said that they would do it. I can think of hardly anything else but the tummy tuck at the moment, it can't come quick enough now, thank goodness I didn't have a whole month to wait and think about it.
It's the 29th of June, well I am feeling sick and nervous when I think about my operation. The has been many thoughts in my head since this letter telling me I can get it done, some good others not so good,
Of course I want my tummy tuck and I will get it done but I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared stiff!
I went to get my bloods taken on Wednesday I told the nurse that she had to fax the results strait back to Whiston ASAP so she asked me when my tummy tuck was and in all my excitement I just said Saturday! Not a week, Saturday!
Well at least the blood test will get rushed through.
Friday 5th of July
Leave today!!! It's the operation tomorrow I sleep like a baby last night I don't believe that but I did! The children were dropped up at there grandma's last night (Stephens mum) And I'm missing them already.
Up at my sisters for 8.45 this morning as I can not wait as we have to be at the airport at 9am, she must be feeling awful as she has to leave her baby and children.
She takes some before photographs for this journal for me two side ones and two front views (so I can show you all how bad it really is).
We arrive at Liverpool airport laughing and joking, there is a man standing there with the name Mrs. Cubbon on a card, that's me!!!!!
So we get to Whiston hospital and it's real big, we had no difficulty in finding my ward with all the sign posts laid out so clearly!
We get to my ward at 11am-ish. We were then told to go to the day room to wait, as they were not expecting me till much later.
After waiting what seemed like forever we go and ask if we can at least take my sister to her hotel and get some dinner to kill the time, we were gladly told yes!
Michele's room was nice but it was not worth the £47.90 they charged for just the room and no breakfast for just 1 night! That was the ship in Whiston.
Anyway we had a nice lunch of pasta, onion rings, chips, and cheese garlic bread, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, can still taste it all!
We return to the ward now as I have found out 4g that's the burns and plastic surgery wards.
Men and women are kept away from each other thankfully but the is many men and women on the ward.
So after another 2 hours in the day room as board as can be, my sister and myself laughing at everything such as how pathetic men can be to natural bodily noises, I think we were called for to get us outta there!
I was booked in and blood pressure done, then I was weighed, 10 stones in all my cloths!! (1 stone is 14 lb) so I'm 5ft 8 and 140lb. Which for my height is great I'm on the lower end on healthy weight! That's good.
I get my hospital bands and that was it! Tomorrow its operation day. I meet some pretty nice girls on the ward, even another Manx woman!! So I'm not the only Manx girl here!
I think Michele stayed till about 10pmish, was told that she was not allowed to come to see me before 11.30am tomorrow because there too busy!!!!!!
We came from the Isle of Man together so she can be with me before the surgery to calm me down, and now were being told this, I'm afraid now I, real pi%$sed off and upset by it, I'm not crying but I feel lousy,
The is two of us girls having surgery tomorrow its me and the little woman in the opposite bed who keeps crying that's in tomorrow. I tell Michele please come as early as possible as they may not turn her away if I'm upset.
Saturday 6th of July.
Operation day.
I feel awful, because I'm so nervous, I'm seeing my surgeon for the first time after seeing him on the island for 5 minutes its Mr. Hancock, and apparently I'm also seeing the man who puts me too sleep, but can not spell that one!
I was told by the nurses last night more bad news, if I'm first on the list not only will I not see my sister before I go down at 9am-ish I will not have time for a pre-med, which of course I want badly by now.
Catherine, the crying girl opposite, is first for surgery,
That's okay I'm happy about that now after the first disappointment goes after thinking at least Michele will be with me and I may get my pre-med yet!!
10am comes and not only am I alone but Catherine is still in her bed talking to her surgeon, when the meds at 10ish come round I'm a bit worried that everyone including Catherine is getting mini Heparin, the blood thinning drug that reduces the risks of blood clots, the very medication I so need!! I spoke to my surgeon on the island about this, as I'm afraid of blood clots and it was one of my biggest fears of this operation.
I'm now greeted by a big jolly green giant! He's the guy going to put me too sleep, I immediately ask for a pre med, he asks me why! Derrrr can you not see, I tell him I'm real scared and want to calm down, he seems reluctant and I pull such a terrified face that he Okays it there and then!
He asks me loads of questions, such as do I smoke, do I drink, when I ate last; I assume that they don't read notes of the patients'
I ask him why I haven't had the Heparin' He says that that would be the surgeon's choice and I tell him I have already spoken to my surgeon on the Isle of Man about this!
He tells me to talk to the surgeon in a few minutes about it. He asks me to stand up open my mouth and asks any problems with my jaw, I tell him I have a dislocating *owchhhhh* jaw and this gets his attention, he asks me if I'm aware that the tube they put down my throat may now dislocate it! Oh joy! I do now?
But he says since its been years since its dislocated itself that it may be okay, he tells me to mention it to the surgeon he then said the pre-meds on its way and so was the surgeon.
And in about 10 minutes I get to see my surgeon, well it's not Mr. Hancock!!!!!
But Mr. Pakistani man, I can not for the life of me remember his name, but one thing I can say about Pakistani men, that are dedicated to there work and I know that as I have some friends that work for me that are of this race, so I do feel assured and okay about this, but a little shocked that Mr. Hancock is not doing it, but then I suppose he only does his private clients I sort of figured out!
My surgeon asks to look at my tummy, this is the first time anyone has done this since my visit so far, he lifts pulls tugs and then draws all over it!
He tells me that its unusual to have so much skin above the bellybutton as well as below, I point out that I lost so much weight that I guess it would be all over my tummy (86 lb lost in total) six stone 2 lb to UK people!
He seem okay with this and asked me that question, have I finished my family, I have had 3 lovely girls two losses in-between and I'm blessed with my daughters, I worry too much I think to have any more but I would have another child tomorrow if I thought this world would be a better place, no I didn't give him that lecture! I just told him I had 3 great kids and that I'm not having any more, I had already had a pregnancy test the Friday morning so I didn't need another one.
I asked about the Heparin, he said that as I was a healthy mobile and planning to be mobile woman he reckoned I did not need this, I begged to differ, let's just say I got my Heparin before and after surgery!
All the rounds were finished and Catherine was first on the list so she went down almost immediately after the rounds.
Catherine had told me that 3 hours was the time she had been given that she would be in surgery, I was told I would be maybe just over an hour, I was pleased with that. The nurse who then brought my pre-med at about 11am told me I was due to be in surgery around mid morning so I recon 12 30 - 1pm-ish'' Michele had turned up by my bedside at 10.30am and I was pleased to say the least to see her. I dressed into my gown stockings and sexy paper knickers.
The pre med had no affect on me I was still terrified yes okay I felt like I had drank a good strong shot of something but it didn't take the terror away, I expected too much.
I was called for at 12.30ish, getting on that trolley was awful knowing where I was going, Michele walked down with me, and we hugged kissed and I was taken to a room with the go to sleep guy in it, the was a nurse there to and a mad doctor who kept running round like a headless chicken but not seeming to do anything!
I was hooked up to monitors and had a line put in my arm vein, I was crying with fear by now, as soon as they started to reassure me and change the subject to my kids it made me worse, I wanted my girls...
Oh boy, so next thing the jolly green giant put some stuff in my arm to relax me, oh wow did it!
I was floating round the ceiling I asked him to tell me before he put me off too sleep he promised he would, but I don't remember anything after that just coming round in a bit of pain and telling the man sat next to me that I was too sore and to stop the pain please!
He must have as I was then in the ward with my sister, and it was all over.
I remember looking at the clock and it being about 430pm! That seemed to be too long. I thought I was only supposed to be 1 hour.
Anyway I don't remember too much in the next few hours just that I phoned Stephen I had an oxygen mask on and I was wearing it on my head whilst I was talking to Stephen!
I notice I have two large pints of milk-sized bottles next to each leg; these are filled with red fluid, now I know I have 2 drains in place.
And the nurse kept putting it [oxygen mask] back on my face and I kept taking it off, so the phone call ended and I asked Michele to leave me and go back to the hotel for the night as I was so tired, I remember vaguely my surgeon visiting me! It was early evening and he was telling me it took longer than planned as I had a hernia repair. And he waffled on about the surgery a bit, I cannot remember much of what he said but he never stayed long he must have been on his way home!
It must have been about 8pm I next woke, as I needed the toilet, they brought me the bedpan! Noooooooo way,
I told them so too but they insisted and saw how I can not use them well and I was allowed to use the commode, it took about 15 minutes before I went but when I went, I went!
In that Saturday night I filled the commode 3 times. Cannot believe my bladder was that full!
I remember as I sat on the commode with the curtains drawn around me listening to really weird music on the telly [TV], yep that was a film I knew! The girls were in for a shock it was 'Event Horizon', a film I have and know well, I sat there calling to them and letting them know what sort of sci-fi film they were in for, it was immediately turned over! After a lot of huffing puffing and tutting about crap on the telly these days!
POST OP DAY 1 Sunday
Well I'm sore, but not in terrible pain, very tired and have been given permission to walk to the loo [toilet] now and to wander around, I manage to do both and over do it as Michele and I walk to the shop by the foyer, I need to sit up in bed with my knees bent and pillows under them so the stitches are not pulled at.
It's also more comfortable lying like this than any other way.
This day goes fast and I'm wondering when the two drains will be taken out, thankfully each time I want to move my drains have little plastic loops at the tops to hold onto so I look like a lovely sexy milk woman in her stockings and bottles walking round the ward!
The doctor comes round on his rounds and tells me why my operation took so long, I had a hernia on my belly button under all that skin, and he was glad he opened me up now.
I'm like' thank god I don't need to get an operation on that later on'
He's also glad I am mobile and he asked me to lye down so he could look at my tummy, I'm thinking, no thank you! He has put an abdominal support belt round my tummy, so he peels that away to reveal what's underneath.
But the is a lot of plasters and dressings round my middle he just wanted to look at my belly to make sure the was no haematoma or too much swelling, etc..
All was well. I'm glad to get the support back on my tummy; it seems to give me reassurance my tummy wont split in to two!
DAY 2 POST OP Monday
Walking to the bathrooms toilets, help me keep blood clots away!! Well I know its rare but its one of my biggest fears.
I'm missing my children so much I'm missing hubby too but it's the girls I want, but then I guess most mothers would feel the same. I'm board and I'm afraid Michele's probably wanting to go home ASAP. To I just hope she's not to fed up with the wait to go home.
I see the doctor this morning he is not my surgeon at all I'm not sure who he is, but he tells the nurses that the is no reason why I shouldn't go home, I must add he did not ask my opinion!
Although I want to go it is a bit early but he knows best.
The staff on the ward phone and make all the arrangements.
Its time for my drains to be taken out, its something I have not been looking forward too at all as Michele says it does not hurt it just is a horrid feeling, I'm not convinced, the nurse comes to my bed about 11-ish to take my drains out first as Catherine over from me is also due to have her drains out, I'm worried how long they will be, but I'm thinking maybe 4 inches inside me'
The nurse asks me to take a deep breath and then she pulled hard, ooooooowwwwwwwwwwww my god it was awful, it hurt like hell, I think it went over the hernia stitch wound underneath my skin because its whatever it snagged on there that hurt the most. It felt like about 2 foot long, and yep it was!!
Then it was the other side, well of course once bitten! I was really thinking get on with it, then another nurse walked in to talk about something or other to my nurse, oh God get on with it, I'm thinking!
So she once more asked me to take a deep breath and ohhh that one was horrid but it didn't hurt like the first, she now tells me that one is usually more painful than the other, thanks!
After that I just lay still while she mops up lots of blood, it's then that she tells me she will have to remove all the dressings because they are soaked in blood, oh more good news!
So I lie there as she removes what looks like great big Band-Aids off my tummy and hips, I don't look because I'm not ready to look at the wound itself, I'm afraid to look, I feel it's all off, she then says she will shortly be back with more dressings and within a minute or so she is, that's when I ask her how bad it looks, and do I look butchered a bit, she tells me I look great and I have a lovely new tummy, she tells me to look,
I do, it looks great its flat and I have a lovely little belly button, and Ateri-strips are from one side of my hip to the other.
I'm glad I looked that day as it made it real easier to cope with knowing it wasn't so bad under all the dressings.
After being re-dressed and my abdominal support put back on, the nurse tells me to rest for 30 minutes on the bed.
I ask for my sister back who was told to go out to the day room before my drains were taken out.
The staff from the desk tell me that my flight is at 1pm and it wasn't Liverpool airport but that we would have to travel to Manchester airport instead, that meant our taxi was coming in 30 minutes!
So I get dressed and Michele helps with my bag, etc. I'm given my pain medication, and doctor's note and sick note.
The taxi driver reluctantly takes the bags!! Men! He then makes us walk all the way round the hospital to get to his cab, refusing to drive to main entrance, I'm tired sore and hunched over.
So the ride begins after asking this guy to drive nice and gently he laughed at that! I was serious, so by half way banging around in the back I'm in a lot of pain and I'm finding it hard to breath properly, by time we get to the airport an hour has passed and I'm in a lot of pain.
We get to the airport and I actually feel like my tummy has a baby in it its so swollen and sore, we find a nice woman who works at baggage who insisted she sort us out and got me a wheelchair I so desperately needed.
We go through all the booking in, etc., immediately and we get to be first on, but I need a wee, it took me 20 minutes to pee because I was so sore.
On the plain I'm finding it harder and harder to breathe I'm quite scared, Michele is trying to reassure me but I'm sorry I'm unwell and something is not right, I decide I'm phoning the doctor out when I get home.
Okay, I have held off on this part for weeks, now its time to finish this journal, even as bad as it is????
I get home and I'm in a lot of pain, Michele phones the doctor for me as Stephen makes me a cup of tea.
I cannot breathe properly; I'm finding it an effort to breath at all. Its because I have to think about each breath and how to do it, I have never in my life had this before and I'm scared, very scared, I know I need to calm down but I can't breath right so God I feel like I'm dying, I will never ever forget that feeling.
The roads close my housing estate off in 1/2 an hour as the southern 100 motor bike races are on at the moment and it totally cuts us out from the rest of the island for the night, so if I'm going back to hospital I dont have long left, the doctor calls and said he was not sure what was up with my tummy or me!!
So he hums and harrs about what to do, then makes the decision to send me in, and phones an ambulance.
The wait for that ambulance is the longest few minutes I have ever had, as I'm feeling worse all the time, I feel so ill and know that something is wrong.
By time the ambulance arrives I'm breathing into a brown paper bag which does not help much, I know I'm hyperventilating but why???
The paramedic checks my heart rate and blood pressure it is very low, but he says I will be okay, and I will be out of hospital before I know it, I'm crying for my children by now, as when I was home waiting for the ambulance my children walked into the house with their nana as planned for my return, but was escorted strait back to their grandmas house, which is where they had been staying, so I'm just weeping and moaning for my children, but I'm just a wreck at this time so it seems the only thing I want. As I was so hurt of not seeing them and letting them down by not being their. But I know that is not true now but at the time I felt awful.
I get to hospital and its a female doctor that I know that arrives and asks what has happened so I explain from the time of the drains being removed to me on the bed, I'm in a lot of pain and look 6 months pregnant.
A nurse I will never forget????.. Comes to check me in and take my details, but I'm still very upset wanting my kids and embarrassing myself, I calm down a bit after a good cry.
I have my observations taken and my blood pressures down real low, and hearts racing, the is cause for concern but I'm told to start to relax, I'm real scared that they will put a needle in and draw off blood, tapping me, but I'm reassure if they do this at all I will be given a local anaesthetic in my tummy first, a surgeon Mr. Mona comes to look at my tummy, and decides I have no haematoma, and asks why I left the island to have this procedure as he said he did tummy tucks, I'm shocked and a bit fed up about this as I never wanted to leave the island for this procedure as I'm not from England and I was very home sick over there and I wouldnt be in this mess in the first place if I had stayed here!
I feel a bit less stressed knowing I'm not getting my tummy pricked with a massive needle, but I'm still feeling real bad, I'm told that they will give me pain killers after I tell them what pain relief I have already taken this day.
My mum is with Stephen and me by now and seems concerned but I reassure her I'm okay now and just need to rest and get pain relief.
My nurse comes with the pain killing injection about 7pm, I have a clock up on the wall in front of me, and so I recall certain times?.
Its a morphine-based drug called Tramadol
My mum and Stephen chat to me as my obs [observations/stats] are taken again, and then we are left alone to settle for a while, Stephen decides he wants to go to the shop at the front of the hospital for some sweets and munchies.
So mum and I talk, shes talking about my nephew who is nearly 18 and acts like hes 14, a real little sod he is, and mums telling me the latest naughty things he has done, and its getting on my nerves so much I feel sick.
This feeling gets worse and worse I tell mum I feel sick and get me a sick dish??????..
The next thing I know is I'm seeing black and white blobs all over my eyes and next thing I know is I'm looking up at a very cross looking nurse, I'm wondering why she looks so cross as I was obviously having a sleep, as was dreaming, but then I remembered something really strange? Seeing myself from the side, and my mouth open and neck looking stretched back and awful?.
But that dream had colours but I still cannot remember it to this day???
From my mum, this is what happened???
I wanted to be sick, then she gave me a sick dish, I then fell back with my eyes rolling back, and she thought I was dead!!
She went out screaming to the nurses, who felt for a pulse then called the crash team, I was then given mouth to mouth but this nurse who was looking down at me as I woke????.
So there you go?.
The surgeons back I'm getting them all running round I'm drenched in sweat, I'm soaked, the windows are opened, and I'm tilted almost upside down so the blood comes back to my head? I think.
I am really afraid and keep asking Mr. Mona "am I okay?", and "it wont happen again will it", I have a drip put up and bloods [bloodtests] taken to be checked for any problems.
When the results are back no one can tell me why this happened, only that I could be allergic to Tramadol.
All night I was afraid it would happen again.
But of course it never did, it was probably the longest night I have ever had. Everyone had to go home and I was alone. I thought I dont want to die alone?
But unless it happens to you, you just dont know how you would feel so yes it was a silly thing to think but not at the time.
I was discharged with no further problems after another 3 days. I was glad to get home and back to my family.
It must have been within 2 weeks I knew something was not right with my tummy tuck results but by 6 weeks I knew that it was a mess.
It is at 10 weeks post op I saw the consultant Mr. Hancock, he took one look at my tummy and said, who did that!? I of course said, you should know but it was not you!
He had a good look at it and told me that I would have to have it done again as he could see even more excess skin to come so hes giving me 6 months to live with it until my scar tissue goes then he will have to do the procedure again.
I want him to do it and no one else, I want him to do it over here, but I'm not sure if he will as I'm scared that I will have the same happen to me all over again. So I'm left with
My belly button to the left, and rolls of excess skin still here, and a flap of skin hanging over my scar, an apron of skin, the reason I had the tummy tuck in the first place, but the difference is now, I look worse than when I started, also it hurts and I have an over hang, I also can not ware any nice sexy underwear it has to be large hold your tummy in knickers as a nice pair of thongs actually hurt as the roll of skin is cutting it into my scar. I feel I have been through hell and back for nothing.
As I'm worse now than I was before the operation.
One thing I will add before ending this journal is remember my story is very rare, it will not happen to you and even I have to go through it again.
I have nothing good to say about my experience except maybe I appreciate how fragile life really is, and how at a blink of an eye it can be taken away so easily and given back just as quick.
Sallyannie????????
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