My Story Part 5

My Face Lift Story Part 5

September the 5^th 2008 I am 54 years old I realized what was bothering me, it was the fact that I had not seen real people that had undergone the surgery, seeing them had certainly made up my mind.

Talking To The Family

When I got home I spoke with my daughter I told her all about the operation, she was delighted for me, she said go for it mum, you have worked hard all your life so spend some money on yourself for a change
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Then came my eldest son he did not mind either way, but he was not sure about me going for an operation,

I then spoke to my youngest son who I am very close to, I knew what he would say, so I was not disappointed when he said what do you want to change for mum, there is nothing wrong with the way you look, it is a waste of money, why not spend it on a long holiday or something?

I knew he would say this but I also knew that he would be very worried about me having an operation, I have never had an operation before, so it is scary when you think about it

Preparation For Surgery

September the 5^th soon came round and before I realized my husband and I were on our way to the hospital to have my operation, As we got closer to the clinic my tummy was churning and I was scared but excited at the same time, it is a feeling that is hard to explain.

The journey takes about an hour as the clinic is in a place called Elche. I remember looking at my husband and thinking how much I love him and I could not do this without his support, the drive seem to take so long I was glad when we arrived, we parked the car along the road about 5minits walk from the clinic, then we waited at the reception until the surgeons wife came and saw us to our room,

It was a nice room with a hospital bed and a large double sofa bed as family were allowed to stay with you over night, my husband was going to stay with me the whole time,

The anaesthetist came to see me and went through the procedure that he will be performing, the surgeons wife then came to see me with the consent forms to sign, after signing the consent forms I gave her the money, but as I was handing the money to her I was unaware that I was asking lots of questions and I was getting very nervous I was really scared now.

The surgeons wife just looked at me, she said that if you have any doubts do not have the operation, you must wait until you are absolutely sure, she then explained why, if you are really stressed before you go under, you would wake up in the same state, I was quite surprise at this, so I settled my self down and got ready to go for the operation.

The Operation

I was told to get undressed and lye on the bed, it was only about 5 minutes, when they came to take me down to the operating theatre, we were told that the total time would be 5 hours, from the time you arrive into the theatre as a lot of tests would be carried out, plus it takes about an hour to do all the drawings that are needed for the operation, and about hour in recovery, quite a long time.

In The Theatre

I was now in the theatre, there were about 8 nurses and doctors all in their green gowns and masks, it was so scary, but the surgeon soon got to work marking my face and keeping me occupied explaining what he was doing, while others were putting all types of machinery on me,

I remember shivering with cold it was freezing in the theatre, I told him that I was very cold so he got a nurse to fetch me another blanket, this did help a little, but I was still shivering with cold while they were still working on me.

Waking Up After The Operation

The next thing I realized was waking up with the surgeon calling my name, I was suddenly aware of where I was, I was still so cold really shivering, but as I came round more from the antithetic the shivering started to calm down as I was getting warmer, I understand now when they say the state you go under the antithetic is the state you will wake up, this is why they do not want you stressed before the operation.

I was more awake now and started to get sacred, as my eyes seemed to be swollen I could only see through a slit, and my head and neck was completely bound in bandages,

No Pain

Nothing was hurting but I was so scared at what I looked like. When I was properly awake they wheeled me back to the room, my poor husband just looked at me so sadly I must have looked a state (yes I was a state looking back at the photos)........to be continued