Healthy Magazine Holidays Issue 2018

Advisor . Surgery
The jeans fit!
This is an essay written by one of my patients.
She was so struck by her experience she turned
to social media and posted this essay on her
facebook page and ours. She was nervous
about what people would think but was also
so excited she couldn’t hold back. She got so
many supportive comments that we thought
we would share this woman’s experience with
our readers in Healthy Magazine.
“Getting a tummy tuck changed my life.
Before you decide I am a shallow person
that is too lazy to loose inches and get fit
the more "natural way" let me tell you my
story.
I found out I was diabetic just before
getting pregnant with my first child and
was warned by doctors weight could
become an issue. But being a size 7/8
pant, I thought weight would never be a
problem for me. It hadn't been all my life.
Tragically, I put on exactly 97 lbs with
my first baby. Breastfeeding helped take
some baby weight off, but I never got
rid of my stomach. My abdomen was so
stretched out that it even had a split down
the center (you know what I am talking
about).
I was left with sagging, wrinkly skin. I had
2 choices, keep the muffin top so that my
skin looked suppler or lose the weight and
have a wrinkled old man on my stomach.
What was the point of exercising when
those were my options?
It has been 7 weeks since my surgery and
I decided to be brave enough to buy a pair
of jeans.
I haven't bought a pair of jean in about 8
years. Why? Because jeans make muffin
tops even worse and to hide my muffin
top I needed a larger pant size which
made everything look wrong. Swimsuits
and jeans are brutal on the self-esteem.
I swallowed hard, walked into the store,
and decided to give it a shot. I grabbed the
first pair of jeans in my size (11/12) and
headed for a dressing room.
When I put on the jeans they fit like a
glove and I couldn't believe that my very
first pair of jeans looked amazing. The
saleswoman said they looked perfect on
me and asked if I would like to try them in
a different color. She came back carrying
a size7/8! Politely I said, “These won’t fit,
although it would be awesome if they did.”
She laughed and said, “They DO fit. You’re
wearing a 7/8 now!”
My heart fluttered like I was in a dream
and hoped I would never wake up. I
stood, stunned. Could this be true?
After a decade, is a 7/8 a reality for me?
Sometimes we just give up on the dream,
you know?
I tried on 5 more pair of pants just to
reaffirm that the saleswoman wasn't a
liar or this wasn’t all a mistake. (Wouldn't
you?) The funny thing about surgical
weight loss is that you literally have to
catch up mentally to your new size.
So the miracle of it all is that I look as
amazing as I feel, and I am not imprisoned
by low self-esteem.
If you are suffering like I was, if you just
want to recognize yourself in the mirror
again or feel comfortable in your own skin,
consider NuVista Plastic Surgery. Their
staff is warm and understanding and Dr.
Petersen has a gift of healing. Thank you
Dr. Petersen for giving me my life back in
so many, many ways!!!”
-Rachel
https://www.facebook.com/rachelspricematch
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Dayne Petersen
NuVista Plastic Surgery
nuvistaplasticsurgery.com
Dr. Petersen recently moved his practice after
spending several years on the teaching faculty of
the University of Oklahoma. To learn more about Dr.
Petersen and breast oasis, the non-profit he supports,
visit his website www.nuvistaplasticsurgery.com.
76 HEALTHY MAGAZINE 2018 Healthy-Magazines.com