The Deed & The Painful Recovery
Warning: If you are squeamish about blood or gore, skip this post.
Picture taken the day after we came back from Korea, exactly 8 days after the surgery. Color correction only.
29th August 2014
How the hell did I even muster a smile? Dawn obviously knew what to expect but I didn’t.
Pre-surgery
My surgery was scheduled for 10am while Dawn’s was at 930am, but we went to the clinic at 830am for some pre-op check-up and final consultations with the doctors who will be operating on us.
As per standard procedure, you have to avoid food and water 8 hour prior to the surgery. This is in order to minimise the risk of aspirating vomitus while under general anesthesia.
I met with Dr. Ban just before the surgery to discuss how big I wanted to go with regards to my breasts. I wanted it to look as natural as possible so he suggested teardrop shaped implants about 260cc each. Then he got out a marker and started marking the areas which to draw fats out and also where the implants will go.
The Aftermath
My surgery took about six hours and I can’t even begin to describe the amount of pain I was in after the surgery. They were really kind to have placed Dawn and I in the same room so we had company. We couldn’t really muster a conversation of any sort but having the physical presence of a friend really helped in keeping me sane because recovery was a bitch.
I wasn’t allowed any water for the first two hours after the surgery because the anesthesia might still cause me to vomit. When I was finally allowed to drink, I had to sip small amounts of it or it would upset my stomach. I actually did feel nauseous after my first few sips of water. My body was in an excruciating amount of pain and I actually questioned my sanity several times in what I felt was the longest and most painful day in my life.
I took comfort in two things that day; the fact that Dawn was with me and the nurses at Banobagi who worked tirelessly through the night to attend to us. My temperature was taken every two hours to ensure that I didn’t have an infection, my IV bag was changed regularly, and I could call for them with a button beside my bed if I needed water. I felt safe and that was really one of the most important things I needed after putting my body through all that stress.
30th August 2014
Discharge
Claire came in to check on us around noon the next day and we were discharged after just one night in the clinic. We were far from full recovery but at least the critical period is over. My hair was matted with blood and lymph fluid from the liposuction sites and I walked out of the clinic looking like a crazy person.
We picked up our medication on our way back to the guest house and it was really the first time I had a good look at myself in the mirror. I was covered in lymph fluid and the only thing I could do was to wipe myself down with the wet wipes that I had brought along with me.
Lymph fluid. Lymph fluid everywhere.
I was also leaking lymph fluid for the next two days so I had to use a towel in addition to paper towels to line the bed so that I don’t stain it.
My mobility was severely compromised and my exercise for the day was limited to the number of trips I made to the toilet. The speed at which I walked can be described as a really slow zombie.
Fat grafting
The most immediate thing I noticed about my face was how nice and round my forehead was and how my laugh lines had been filled out. There was some swelling underneath my eyes but that’s to be expected. My nose bridge went missing for the next few days. Out of all the procedures that I had done, fat grafting hurt the least.
Liposuction
I knew there was going to be bruising from the liposuction but I didn’t think it would be at a level where I would look like I was involved in a car crash or someone’s target practice for a paintball match. There was also plenty of swelling so it looked like I didn’t even go for liposuction in the first place. My arms had absolutely no strength so I couldn’t reach for anything and I ended up keeping bottles of water, wet wipes and the air-con remote on my bed.
Breast Augmentation
No one told me my new breasts were going to hurt this much. It was essentially stuffing implants underneath my muscles and into my chest cavity. My skin was so taut and my chest felt so tight and sore that I thought I was going to die. They still sit really high up and it will take some time for gravity to work its magic.
Afterthoughts
The popular opinion is to hate on those who went under the knife because of vanity. You can’t deny that there’s a growing positivity for plastic surgery as it becomes more common but people are still afraid to show their support for it. Friends and acquaintances have approached me after our second post to express support and even interest in getting procedures done while those that are vehemently against plastic surgery just post negative comments on the blog because that’s the best way to project their insecurities and enforce their opinions on us. You can call a person plastic for getting a nose job or double eyelids and be okay with them getting braces or veneers when it is body modification all the same. This got me thinking about how negativity just continually fuels itself without anyone standing up and saying that it is in fact okay to pursue an ideal on your own terms.
It wasn’t an easy decision for me to make and I thought long and hard before I decided on getting work done. You can criticise me for having an unrealistic ideal of beauty but this opinion extends to my own body and I do not project this on a person who had a similar body as I did. If you have A-cup boobs and love your body the way it is, power to you. I didn’t like mine, but it doesn’t mean I hate yours or anybody else’s.
Being open about my plastic surgery procedures has inevitably placed me under scrutiny but I would rather allow our readers to have access to my personal experiences so that they can make an informed decision if they are considering plastic surgery. It is a huge decision after all.
Read more about our experience here:
Part one
Part two
