So I saw the doc today. He pulled fluid from both sides of my back right below my incision. He said I had to wear my binder and cut way back on my fluid intake (was drinking a gallon of water a day). But that I COULD KEEP WORKING OUT WITH NO RESTRICTIONS! Wooooohoooo! So stoked! :)

So I have a couple things on my mind..... 1. I am thankful to be alive. I feel blessed to be given another day with my family on this earth.

2. The hole is finally completely closed!

3. I am completely medically released with no restrictions.

4. I have been back at bootcamp and full workouts for a few weeks now.

5. The fluid in my back is back and accumulates faster than ever before......

6. This sucks!!!! I see the doc on Friday. He may aspirate again, he may place a drain.... who knows. One thing I know for sure is that the increased activity causes the fluid...

7. My biggest fear is he will place a drain which means restricted activity again.

Overall I am trying to stay positive. I know this is temporary and this too shall pass. I just lost my aunt so I know that life is too short to worry about things like this. However, it is affecting my life. My workouts are my me time, my therapy.... I have notice that my emotions are less controlled when I am unable to have this for myself. It causes a lot of fear in me. I don't want this to affect my results either. :(

  I know I look and feel a lot better now than I ever have before. Trying to remind myself where I started...

Gonna look at old photos and get out of my rut! I love that my husband loves me flaws an all! :) My goal is to help others. I wish I was told that this can be an emotional journey as well as a physical recovery after plastic surgery. So now you know. 

3.5 months post op and bootcamp restart progress pics :)

So my new "hole" is almost completely closed! I thought it would never happen but I followed docs instructions exactly and it is almost closed! I had to do wet dressing changes every few hours so that the hole stayed damp. I also used collodial silver on the wet gauze which seem to "melt" away the slough (whitish tissue). He did have to drain/aspirate fluid from my back a few more times as well.

I have been fully medically released and restarted bootcamp. While recovering I got a serious case of Thunder thighs and loosey goosey arms. All of that was firm prior to surgery because of the bootcamp workouts.

My body is drastically different since surgery. I am still trying to figure out how to dress this body. I am now a curvy 6/8. I HAVE A BUTT! I have never experienced a butt and true hips before surgery. It is taking some getting used to. I have some major toning to do and would like to lose about 10 more pounds.

This is a picture of the "hole". The really dark spot/area is the hole. It is tiny! I am super excited about that!!!

Ok so I am on my phone and it is hard to type so please excuse typos! Please no negative comments! It takes me a lot to build the nerve to post these. My goal is to help. I do not post to boast. Just document my journey with honesty in hopes to encourage or help others. :) BTW this is a swimsuit! Tommy Bahama :)

6 weeks post op

Still having fluid issues in my back the last drain came out a week and a half ago. On Tuesday the doc removed more fluid from the left and right side of my back via syringe (and big ole needle). He also removed some debris from the wound that is not closing well which revealed it was much deeper than it looked. So now I am packing the wound with saline soaked gauze. Trying to stay positive this delayed healing has got me feeling down. So I decided to take pics in my new suit. 32/34 DD top and large bottoms :) It has been a struggle to stay positive so please no negative comments. I will see the doc again on Tuesday. Swelling continues to reduce :)

So this is 3 weeks out. Had to have a new drain placed due to fluid collection on my back side below the incision. Doctor also had to stick a needle in my front right side around my incision and pull fluid (about 20 cc's). The drain in my back is still draining. It won't come out until it drains less than 30 cc's over a 24 hour period. The scabie (I know gross right!) area in the front is from blisters (reaction to tape) and hematoma  (darkness under my skin). Thank God it was not necrosis! This area should heal just fine but will just take a little longer to heal completely. I am still swollen, this will continue to improve over the next few weeks and months. Those shorts I am wearing will barely stay up now. Had to roll them to keep them up! 7 lbs. 14 ounces of skin and a little fat (hehehe) removed. I have also lost an additional 4+ lbs. :) please no negative comments. It took a lot to muster the courage to post these. Thank you!

surgery update....

Friday they cut the knots out of my sutures. There also was an area of skin, between my new navel and pubic area, that the doc was concerned about but after he checked he said is fine. However, the incision in the same area is a littke red and he is still keeping an eye on the whole area. He said it will take longer for this area to heal but it should be fine. I see him for another follow up on Tuesday (in a week).

Progress pictures explanation

So let's try this again... 4th time is the charm.... the progress pictures on the previous post are from the last 2.5 years. After Averi passed away in 2009 I was determined to change for the better. I wasn't sure what that would entail ( still working on me I am not perfect that's why I need God). After Ellie was born in 2010 with all her needs (visual impairment, oxygen, suction, g-tube dependant), and with Ian's new diagnosis of Autism I knew I had to do something about my health. I was always tired, had chronic headaches, high blood pressure,  sleep apnea, and severe acid reflux. The Pychologist that diagnosed Ian told me that he may do really well or may need support well into adulthood. That sealed it for me. I had to be here now and for a very long time for my kids.

When things with Ellie stabalized in early 2012 I told my doctor I was done being overweight. She put me on a medically supervised diet... I started with her at 265lbs.... during that 6 months I lost 11 lbs... then gained it back and went back up and thensome to 274lbs.... then lost that 11lbs and thensome and got down to 253lbs. I decided I was done yo-yo dieting and didnt give a crap about the stigma placed on Weight Loss Surgery patients, I was going to do it! By this time my 89 year grandma had come to live with me, and I was her primary care giver. I was already working out and eating way better per insurance and pre-surgical requirements.

The picture of me in the brown shirt is one of me at my heaviest around 274lbs.

The picture of me in the blue dress (I thought I looked so cute, my husband did not lol!) is my pre-op appointment at a weight of 253lbs. - Sept. 2012

The picture of me in  the pink tank top I had stalled in weight loss at 183ish pounds (went to Vegas and gained 9lbs went from 174ish pounds to 183ish pounds.... we really celebrated Kev's 40th birthday!!!! We ate and layed out by the pool all day then went to dinner and a show at night.... we are such party animals!!!) - June 2014

I decided I had to step up my workouts. I was doing a home full body workout with very light weights about 5 times a week. My friend invited me to bootcamp style workouts..... I was HOOKED! Our trainer,  Alex Avila, also sells Herbalife and I started that in August of 2014.

With his style of training I saw amazing results!!! Lost weight (about 10lbs), saw some definition, toning, and actual muscles. I lost inches, my clothes fit better, went down a pant size,  and a cup and a half in my bra size. I worked hard for over 6 months with the hope of plastic surgery in the back of my mind. I wanted to do all I could before taking that step. I knew no amount of working out or weight lifting could or would get rid of the excess skin, but I will be darned if im wasn't going to do my best.

The pictures of me in the blue tank tops are the results of all the blood, sweat, and tears (and trust me there were tons) that went into my workouts June 2014 - February 2015.

The bottom pictures were really hard for me to take..... so please no negative comments....

February 2015 173ishlbs. the night before surgery to remove the excess skin. Lots of people said they didn't think I needed it. If I had clothes on I felt the same way. As you can tell, when the shirt is off there was plenty to work on. The skin is there all the way around. The surgeon removed 7lbs 14oz. of excess skin and some fat too ;) I went in thinking circumferential lift and during the pre-surgery drawing learned that I was basically getting a lower body lift. Bonus butt lift, a little va-jay jay lift (yes I said it lol!) and the excess skin removed from the circumference of my torso.

I will post after surgery pictures soon. I have drains in still.... ewwwww, just ewwwww.... nobody wants to see that.... I have also had a slight complication (an area of skin with a hematoma doctor is watching for necrosis) and I am waiting to see what happens with that.

I will also post updates on Kevin and his recent WLS as well as the kids (all are doing very well!).

Sorry if there are typos... on pain meds... not proofreading!

catch up.... feel free to ask questions