My recovery is going VERY smoothly!

This is the second page of my profile. Click here to see my main profile page, complete with before and current ("after") photos!

NAME NOTE: As part of my divorce, I have changed my name from Julia Moseley to Julia Ziobro. Ziobro is a family name, and I'm very pleased to return to my Polish roots. :-)

For my other profile page, which details my RNY research, surgery, and weight loss, click here.


Start: 08/13/01, 310 pounds, BMI 54, jeans size 32, shirt size 4X
Now: 08/13/02, 145 pounds, BMI 24, jeans size 8, shirt size S

---

News

08/13/02 Three weeks out
07/28/02 Dramatic recovery
07/23/02 Resting
07/21/02 Almost time!!
07/11/02 Embarrassing stuff
07/11/02 Pre-op consultation
07/08/02 Getting ready
05/13/02 Approved!
Summary and Photos

Back to the top.

---

08/13/02

I saw Dr. Egrari today.. he said I'm doing great (of course) and withdrew 150 cc of fluid (about normal, apparently). Beth noticed that my garment was loose and moved me from a 3X to an XL... said she often moves people down one size after a few weeks, but that she's never moved someone down THREE sizes in three weeks. :-)

But here's the kicker, kids. I went home after my appt to pick some stuff up, and just for fun tried on my Eddie Bauer
size 8 "dream" pants. THEY FIT!! I can BREATHE in them!!

I have NEVER EVER worn size 8 ANYTHING except underpants and that ain't pretty. My waist is 28" which is also smaller than it's ever been in my adult life.

I just can't get over looking at my skinny self in the mirror. It's not me, you know? That is just not ME.

Back to the top.

---

07/28/02

Dr. Egrari was thrilled with my progress when he saw me on Friday, and I feel even better since then. I'm basically off the pain medication during the day, though I take the smallest dose right before I go to sleep to make me settle a little bit better.

I'm not standing quite straight up and down and I do feel protective of my body, but I feel pretty danged good!

Best of all is that I'm now within 16 pounds of my goal weight! The water weight is coming off but is by no means gone. I got dressed up a little yesterday to go out in public and without thinking about it, put on my bangle bracelets... I had a hard time getting them off again. So I'll wait a while on those.

Many of the incisions are completely healed or very close to healed. That really amazes me, and I continue to be gentle with them because I'm sure that healing is at the surface and does not extend all the way through to the fascia and muscles underneath.

Wednesday I get my drains out and Thursday I can take a shower. That will be the next big milestone!! :-)

Back to the top.

---

07/23/02

As of 2:45pm yesterday Julia's cosmetic surgery is complete and went smoothly... just as planned and on schedule. Her doctor was very pleased with how she did during the procedure… "it was text book".

Back to the top.

---

07/21/02

In 26 hours, I'll be on the operating table! I am still in my office, finishing up the work I need to complete before I can have my surgery. And I have a ton of stuff to do at home too, a loooooong list. I am so glad that my friend Miriam is going to help me with things in my house tomorrow!!

And the other great news is that Mark CAN spend time with me tomorrow night and that he is going to take me to the Seattle Surgical Center... I have to be there at 6 am tomorrow... my anxiety level dropped about 90% when he told me that he'd arranged things so that he could spend that time with me. I am such an emotional person... and I really believe that being cared about like this will actually make a difference in the surgical outcome and certainly my healing process. :-|

I probably won't be on the computer for three or four days at least (it's hard to keep me down but the drugs just might do it!) but my friend Justin has agreed to post updates to my page with info supplied by Mark and by my best girlfriend Miriam who will be staying with me the first few nights I'm home. So you'll be able to check back here for the news! Thanks, Justin!

Seriously, I'm lucky to have so many great friends here... since I have no family locally... I love my friends and I'm so appreciative of how they're getting organized to take care of me. I would do it for them in a second!!

Back to the top.

---

07/11/02 again

OK, so now for the embarrassing thing. The only part of the whole surgical process that was really bothering me was that they would shave my pubic hair, something I've never done in my life. I finally worked up the nerve to talk to one of my angels about it, and we had a long discussion about womanhood, being a girl and what that meant, control issues, body space issues, and all kinds of stuff. She finally suggested that I do it myself so I wouldn't be worried about it and so that I wouldn't feel violated (and also, so it would be done well). :-)

So tonight, I did it. I used a brand new pair of hair scissors first to cut away most of the hair, and then a brand-new Venus blade on my razor, and now I'm shorn. It feels weird, very sensitive, but I'm sure I'll get used to it in a few days. I think it's going to be a maintenance nightmare though, so unless my boyfriend likes it and wants to help with the upkeep, I'm letting it all grow back as I recover! I suspect that I'd find the contortions required impossible immediately post-op anyway.

Back to the top.

---

07/11/02

Happy birthday to me! :-)

Today was my two hour long pre-operative consultation with Dr. Sepehr Egrari and his staff regarding my plastic surgery, scheduled for 07/22/02. We went through so many things; let's see if I can cover them all!

I am so grateful that my boyfriend came with me to this appointment. Mark's in a really busy time with his business (he's a professional ceramics artist and painter) but I NEEDED him for moral support, boredom relief while we waited a few times, group memory (you know you can't remember anything from these appointments), and aesthetic consultation with my surgeon about how I should eventually look. I know it will be easier for Mark to support me now that he knows the real deal, and I am glad that he agrees with me that Dr. Egrari is top-notch.

First, I read through and signed nine pages of documents detailing the risks of each procedure I'm going to have, and giving my full consent to have them. That took a surprisingly long time because there was some confusion about whether or not I was to have the abdominoplasty -- how could there be any confusion?? -- absolutely, I'm having that procedure! They had to call the surgical center and make sure that my 8 hours in the OR were completely blocked out.

Then she took my vitals and measured me for my support garments. I'll have the standard pressure garment that goes from about under your boobs to mid-thigh, and I'll also have one that covers my upper arms from shoulder to elbow, with a strip across the front and back of the chest to keep it together. We also talked about the medications I'll be on before and after surgery and I got an entire booklet of information and instructions which will come in handy, I'm sure.

Then we waited for some time for Dr. Egrari; a woman had come all the way from Canada for her consultation and they were running late because he wanted to spend more time explaining things to her. As I told Mark, it's OK with me, because if *I* ever need more than my share of time, I want no hesitation; I want them to take the time they need with me even if it makes them late for others. But Dr. Egrari's office is highly professional and they are almost always on time, so running late was pretty weird for them.

Then Dr. Egrari spent a good chunk of time with us. I got naked except for my bra and those weird disposable crotch covers, and he took tons of before pictures. We talked at length about what he would do with each procedure, where the scar would be, and what sort of results I can expect. He complimented me both on my weight loss and how well my body has held together/reshaped itself over the past few months, and said that I'm the ideal type of case; he said that sometimes it's hard when you have to help people understand what their limited results might be like because their body shape is not so conducive to surgery. On the other hand, I already have a naturally narrow waist (29.5" even with several inches of fat on my midriff) and he says that means my results will be "out of this world".

He is such a talented surgeon; he took time to show Mark exactly what the contour of my upper arms will look like, and explained why he doesn't make them incredibly tight the way some surgeons do. Dr. Egrari likes to choose a line that will give a beautiful symmetry between the upper and lower arms so that they will appear to flow together, making the surgery much less obvious to a casual observer. Mark and Dr. Egrari agreed on the line that the surgeon would use.

Dr. Egrari also almost embarrassed me, but because he's so professional at every other moment, I was able to just sort of get through this feeling slightly flustered... Dr. Egrari was lifting chunks of skin all around me talking about the sort of results I should expect from the abdominoplasty; he lifted my tummy and showed how it would even raise my pubic hair a bit. Then he turned to Mark, gave him the little smile, and said that the procedure even provides "vaginal rejuvenation" and that I would be a "new woman". HOLY COW!! I guess the surgeon knows that guys need some sort of special encouragement, a carrot to get them through their partner's early doubts, the drains & swelling, and all the other unpleasant stuff that comes with this surgery.

Then we discussed my upper inner thighs; I was trying to talk Dr. Egrari into adding another zone of lipo to my 07/22 surgical menu, but there just isn't time in the surgical suite and he said I would be unhappy with the results anyway. He showed me what a thigh lift would do for me by tightening the skin with his hands (wow!) and said that it's a much quicker recovery period, in the range of a week. So I'm considering doing it this fall.

Finally, we went and talked to Maria about money. We went through all the financial stuff, I wrote my $6888 check for my share of the surgeon's fees, and we went over what will be due the day of surgery ($3440 for the OR, anesthesiologist, special pain meds, and overnight stay). And then we were on our way, with each office person reminding me to call or email with any questions at any point. In all, I was very satisfied with this two hour meeting, and I can't wait to have this surgery and then get through the first 3-6 weeks so I can see the new me!

Back to the top.

---

07/08/02

It's just two weeks until my surgery! Am I getting nervous? YOU BET!! LOL I am starting to slam the protein and to be extra-super-careful about my vitamins so that I will be in good shape and ready to go. My pre-op appointment is Wednesday, 07/10, at 10:30 in the morning.

Back to the top.

---

05/13/02

I learned today that Aetna has APPROVED my abdominoplasty! That saves me more than $5000, so I am a happy gal!!

In addition to the extensive "fleur-de-lis" abdominoplasty, I'll be having a brachioplasty (batwing removal), two zones of liposuction on my thighs and butt, and I will be having the large burn scar that I got as part of my WLS revised. I will be using Dr. Egrari of Bellevue, and my surgery will take place at Seattle Surgical Center, and is supposed to take seven hours total.

---

You are visitor number since 07/09/02. This counter was created using Digits.com technology.