Just the Beginning

The night before - It was hard for me to fall asleep, after all I had been waiting for this day (my Vaser lipo procedure) like forever! I stared at the half-asleep Mr Hubby with excitement written all over my face. He thought I was rather silly. Then Leonitus coughed and I was reminded that it was a really bad timing to have the procedure done because my precious 6 mth old was unwell. A surge of mixed feelings made me uncomfortable. Eventually, I managed to subdue my apprehension and drifted rather uneasily to dreamland.


Day 1, morning - I woke up early. Showered and all ready to go. Mr Hubby took a day off so that he could drive me to the clinic and fetch me back when I am done. He asked if I was nervous. I replied I wasn't but I must confess, deep down inside me, my adrenaline was pumping. It could be nervousness or excitement. I don't know.


Day 1, noon - I found out that the clinic had made a mistake. I was supposed to have the procedure done by this older doctor who was "commercially-marketed" by the clinic as the mentor of the doc who owned this place but someone or somehow it was messed up and I was assigned to have the procedure with the younger doctor, the boss of the clinic instead. The front desk personnel then tried to psycho me to go ahead with the procedure by "selling" me this younger doc, who is supposedly to be very popular. And actually procedures done by him would cost more but they would absorb the extra charges (damn, they have to because they fucked up in the first place). She went on and on saying how lucky or fated I was to have my procedure with him. I was like "Ok. Cut the fucking crap already!"

Later, when I was all prep up waiting for the anesthesiologist to come and administrate the sedative, another crude surprise was awaiting for me. The anesthesiologist looked more like a plumber in his late 50s than a doctor! He was wearing a pair of dirty-looking beige pants which was at least 2 sizes bigger and he was using this very old belt to hold his pants together. The belt must be as old as he is, so old that the buckle was tarnished beyond hope and when he was standing very close to me, I managed to make up the brand of his belt. It was BONIA! Did he recycled his wife's discarded belt? I didn't have time to think further, the drug knocked me out!


Day 1, evening - I woke up, very light-headed. I was lying in a pool of my own bloody fluid. It was GROSS to the max! I dressed up with the nurses' help and Mr Hubby was already waiting patiently to bring me home. I love this man to bits. First, he offered to sponsor 50% of the cost of my procedure. Then he took leave to take me to the clinic and waited more than 2 hours to fetch me home. He even took over the night duty to look after Leonitus, who had been unwell. I am so blessed to marry him.


Day 1, night - I was told I might throw up so I ate something light and went straight to bed. As I am always sleeping on my sides (curling up in a fetal position), I had so much trouble sleeping on my back and facing upward. I got up many times to pee because I refused to pee in my gigantic diaper. Yes, you heard me right. I was made to wear a diaper because the tumescent fluid in my body kept oozing out from all the 7 holes of my body!


Day 2, morning - I arrived at the clinic to have my dressing changed as well as the post-op drainage which nearly killed me! Why the fuck didn't anybody warn me about this drainage horror? The two nurses were quite nice and patient with me. I cringed when they rolled and pushed and squeezed the fluid out of my already battered and bruised body. I swear it literally felt like I was hit by a truck and ran over several times. I held the blanket close to my mouth to block out my screams. I asked the nurses if there is any other methods to drain out the fluid apart from the current one that I am experiencing. One of them replied, "Yes, we can drain the fluid out using a syringe but some people might not be able to take it and would faint from it." Oh.. That's just GREAT!

They put me in a foam suit which made it look at least 10kg fatter and then squeezed me back into my compression garment. I wobbled out of the clinic like a penguin!


Day 2, afternoon - I took a two hour nap, trying to forget that I would have to go back to the clinic for the damn drainage again tomorrow. I was starting to regret doing lipo. The nurses at the clinic told me I would probably be unable to shower today because of my punctured wounds. But I did it anyway. I even washed my hair. I can endure pain but I can't endure myself to stench like some rotten meat. Maybe I didn't smell that bad but hygiene has always been my top priority.


Day 2, evening - Although still very much in pain, I tried to move about and get up more often so as to aid the drainage of fluid tomorrow. Hated the foam suit, I ditched it aside and made compression garment my only best friend for the next few weeks.


Day 2, night - Mr Hubby came home rather late from work. And he bought me a cheery sunflower and told me to get well soon. He is the sweetest! I would have hug him really tightly if I wasn't sore beyond words to describe.




Day 3, morning - I dragged myself back to the clinic for another drainage session. I was admiring the view from the clinic; it's so picturesque with MBS at the far end. The clinic is really hip with a clean and modern feel, very much opposite from the OT and the cluttered resting area; I must snap pictures when I have the chance. Anyway, maybe my threshold of pain had increased overnight or maybe Nurse Fanny, whom I had began to be more chummy with, put me at ease by chatting with me. It was so much more tolerable today. Mr Hubby came with Leonitus to pick me up and we had lunch before he drove us home. I am so fortunate to have this family.


Day 3, afternoon - I came home and the dressing was already soaked with blood-stained fluid. I took off the compression garment for a quick laundry and wore the stupid foam suit instead. Then the dressing leaked again. I was so fed-up to have spent a long time in the bathtub squeezed myself all over, trying to drain as much fluid out as possible. At the end, the bath tub looked like a scene straight out from CSI. That afternoon alone, I changed my dressing 3 times! The maternity pads really help with the absorption. I should have bought them earlier then I might not need to change my dressings so many times.




Day 3, evening - The thing I hate most from the procedure, apart from the pain, the oozing fluid and the hassle of wearing and taking off the compression garment each time I pee, is the compromise of mobility. I hate the feeling of not being able to carry my children, so I went ahead and carry Leonitus, who is lighter among the two, for few seconds and fuck! it hurts like hell.


Day 3, night - Sleep was uncomfortable because the brusing and swelling had began to kick in. I also started to have water retention from head to toes. My face was kind of bloated to the extent that my double eyelids felt really weird. Now, I am seeming much BIGGER than I once were before lipo. It quite depressing to be at the current stage of recovery.


Working from home tomorrow, I am so not looking forward to the amount of emails that I might be getting after being away from work these few days.

Stay tuned for more of my lipo journey....