007 The future's so bright I gotta wear shades. Well at least in my case a bra!
I hadn't been to my cosmetic surgeon in over 18 months, I had all but given up. I guess I was depressed about my situation and never feeling noticed by Brandon, hell anyone really. I'd always been a wall flower, thin, homely, and timid.
I woke up on the couch the next morning with an empty wine bottle on the table and still topless. I put on my shirt and had breakfast. All the time thinking about my future that I'd been trust into with no warning. I was scared, relieved, and excited all at the same time. I made some decisions over breakfast, I called my Dr's office and left a message about coming in for my usual fill procedure, as well as a consult. Then I changed into workout clothes, and went to a local gym, joined and decided to put a little toned muscle on as I was pretty thin at 5'6" and about 107 lbs.
At my Dr's office a few days later I had my usual fill of my breast expanders, by now I was at a really full B cup and was teetering on a C. I was excited about this again, it's like I had a new outlook on everything. I asked the Dr about facial surgery, as I was tired of the homely wall flower I had been all my life. He and I discussed what my options were and what to expect to achieve based on my facial structure. By the end of the appt, we had a plan for my nose, cheek bones, chin, jaw, and brow. It was a lot but I opted to get it all done in 1 surgery. Against his recommendation though. I would be almost incapacitated with that much being done.
A home health nurse was recommended as I didn't have anyone to really care for me to speak of. None of the people I worked with were more than acquaintances, and I was less that graceful with social situations. We scheduled the surgery for a Wednesday and I took a week of vacation time for some recovery and arranged to work remotely after that for several weeks.
My boss asked if all was ok without being too prying. I would have never told anyone that I was getting cosmetic surgery on my face, but no one had said anything about my breasts that had become visible under clothing in the last 5 years I'd been at the same job. Not to mention that I somehow had a complete attitude shift since becoming suddenly single. So I told him that I was having a face lift. He smiled and said "Thats great for you. Just let me know if you need anything else or how we can help."
I was still surprised by the kind and supportive attitude from him, and ended up telling a couple of other female co-workers over lunch. They were as supportive, again I was surprised and relieved. I still hadn't totally gotten used to how nonjudgmental people were here in Los Angeles. By that afternoon the whole team knew, word still travels fast like in a small town, so that dynamic hadn't changed from what I was used to.
3 Weeks later on my last day at work before my surgery I actually had a surprise party from the team, wishing me well and a speedy recovery. I almost cried I was so happy that no one was being shitty or judging me. They all understood my desire to change who I was after Brandon left, I guess it was pretty obvious even to them that my marriage wasn't exactly perfect.
Wednesday morning came, I had followed all the instructions to get ready for surgery, no vitamins for 3 days, no aspirin for 3 days, etc. My home health nurse showed up to pick me up and take me to the surgery center right on time at 0400. The whole drive there I was nervous and scared, Rosa my nurse for a week was very reassuring. She had been doing this for several years and was highly recommended by my Dr. She explained what to expect after, and what she described wasn't sounding good at all. I almost chickened out right there, but she helped talk me into going through with it.
We got to the surgery center and checked in at 0445 as scheduled. I got taken back and prepped. My surgeon came in and we went over the planned changes again to make sure there was no misunderstandings. After that he smiled warmly, held my hand and said "Don't worry all will be fine, I've got it all under control." That warmed me and helped, but I was still afraid of never waking up for some reason. Shortly after that the nurse said we're ready to go, and that's when the darkness came.
I woke up what seemed only a few seconds later, groggy with my whole head numb. I looked at the clock and it was 1000hrs, wow I thought, 5 hours. That was about an hour longer than expected, I had only hoped that nothing went wrong and I was left with a result that was awful. The nurse gave me some water and helped sit me up a little more. As I was coming around and clearing up the Dr came in and explained that all went really well. He had to do a little more work when we got in there and said a couple of spots dealing with my cheek bone were particularly complex and actually challenging. But reassured me he was very happy with the results and was sure I would be as well.
I couldn't really tell what I looked like with no mirrors around but I felt like it was pretty bad. I knew to expect swelling and bruising but didn't know it would feel this awkward, and I was still numb from the surgery. The Dr came back as I was getting dressed with the nurses help, and explained that because of the extent of work on my cheek bones I would have drains to help with the swelling and so the sutures weren't strained while I was healing.
Additionally he mentioned that they put a surgical bra on me as he did another fill while I was under. He said that since I was spending more time without my bra I was starting to adapt to the expanders a bit better, as he said he was able to add about 40cc this time. And reminded me to wear the bra for a day or to just to be proactive. Rosa said she would make sure I did. I didn't even know she was there, I tried to talk but couldn't, I couldn't smile or do much more but blink.
After the car ride home Rosa got me in the condo and the first thing I had to do was to pee. She helped me to the bathroom and got me taken care of. As I went to the sink I got my first look at myself in the mirror and I panicked then started crying. I looked like my face had been run over by a train and I had tubes sticking out of the bandages. I looked like a SciFi monster with tubes running in and out of me.
Rosa was so sweet and reassuring she calmed me down and helped me to the bed. As the next 4-5 days went by Rosa was there for anything I needed 24/7. She slept on the couch and only left to go and get my mail. I was so grateful for her, the bill was definitely going to be steep for her services alone but not only was she good at it she genuinely seemed to care.
After a week I went in for my check up, the Dr removed the bandages, looked at how things were healing and said all looked good. Keep using the ice packs and resting, you'll be right as rain in no time, he said. The nurse replaced my bandages but the drains were left in my face. I hated that and didn't want to be seen by anyone, even the medical staff.
At home I was getting around pretty well and able to take care of my self pretty much. Rosa packed up her stuff from living with me for a week, and said she would check on me every couple of days. And that if I needed anything to just call. As the next week passed she checked on me and stopped by every other day to change bandages and bring anything from the store I needed as I was not going outside with the tubes still sticking out of my face. But the pain while I was healing wasn't too bad so I guess they were worth it.
The next week Rosa came to take me to my Dr's appointment as I wasn't driving yet. My check up went well, and the Dr removed the drains from my cheeks. That was the most uncomfortable feeling ever, it didn't hurt but it wasn't right. I almost vomited when he did the first one, and didn't want to do the second. But I was committed so I sucked it up and away that one went as well. With minimal bandaging I went back home with Rosa driving. By now I was 2 weeks out and doing well. Rosa started coming less and less frequently until I was healed up and there was just some bruising left.
By that time I finally was looking almost normal and what I couldn't believe was how I looked now. I didn't even recognize myself in the mirror. I just stared in the mirror, and cried. I was so happy!
I thought I looked like a super model now! My cheek bones, chin, nose, and brow were all perfect, my eyes had a slight almond shape now, this was better than I ever imagined.
