Melissa770
Jan 5 & 6 - pre-op
Jan 07, 2013
January 05, 2013
I'm pretty much packed and ready to go. I bought a gift for Paty, well, more for her daughter, it's a little piggy bank with her daughter's name on the side. I'm really hoping it will survive in my checked luggage. My best friend is going with me, He is just as excited as I am. I think it's great having him along to take care of me and to be my advocate should something go wrong, I tend to be a little ditzy at times and he's great at keeping me together. And he has a way of making even the most boring of times fun.
Between work and all the stuff I needed to do to prepare to leave and being stressed about the upcoming surgery was beginning to take a serious toll on me, so I took Thursday off work and my daughter and I spent the day at the spa. It was well worth it! I also did the wire transfer to Dr. S to pay for my surgery.
Today I had a few last minute errands to run, including getting my haircut. Everything was flowing smoothly until I received a text from y friend telling me he didn't think he could go. Seriously??!!?? Less than 24 hours from departure and he tells me this?? I called my mother to tell her the news, she broke down crying on the phone. She didn't want me going to Mexico, but she felt more secure with my friend going. She was really upset. My daughter stayed up all night crying and begging to go with me. It was a sleepless night.
January 06, 2013
After a very terrible night I managed to pull myself together and totally repacked. I managed to get everything into two carryons, one I checked and the other I carried on board as well as Paty's gift. I even managed to cram my favorite pillow into my small checked bag. Strangely I think the pillow helped to give me a little comfort in going alone.
Off to the airport, I was first to arrive at the gate. I did a last minute check of email, OH messages and texts. The flight itself was uneventful. When I landed I discovered all the signs are in Spanish, but it's easy enough to figure out where to go and what to do. Going through immigration was slow, they do stamp your passport and slide in a white card. Thanks to Dee I know to keep the card in my passport, (THANKS DEE!!) apparently that card is your temporary visa which details information about you and how long our are expected to be in Mexico and why you are here. When you go through customs you have to place all bags on the X-ray machine, once you items pass through and you gather them you have to press a red button, if the button turns green you go, if it turns red you have to go through extra screening. I was green, yippie!!!
Dr. Sauceda's driver was waiting right outside customs holding a sign with my name on it. He was very quiet and seemed shy, he apologized and told me he does not speak English. I told him it was ok because I don't speak Spanish. He picked me up in a Lexus, and he drove very fast, weaving in and out of traffic. It was all good, I have a theory: accidents happen on the road, so the faster you go the less time you spend on the road and that reduces the likelihood of an accident...... Right? Once I arrived at the hotel the driver checked me in, while I was waiting Dr. S called and the hotel clerk handed me the phone, it really is perfectly orchestrated. He told me he would pick me up between 6:30 to 7 and to shower before. I got settled into my room, it's nothing special, it's a typical hampton inn. Not as "nice" as some I've been in, but clean and comfortable. I was able to connect to wireless and face time with my kids, I sent out a few emails and messages. I still had a few hours so I took a quick nap. I woke up and showered with Dial antibacterial soap (THANKS CHRIS!!). Maybe it's not needed, but it made me feel like I was in some way preparing myself a little more for the big event! I wore a sundress with a sweater and brown muk luk house shoes that went up to my knees, my thought was if I have to stand completely nakkid at least I can wear the warm cozy knee high house shoes, after all it's covering the only part of my body that he doesn't have to touch..... I waited in the lobby for Dr. S. he arrived promptly at 7. I recognized him the moment he walked in. What everyone says about him is so true. I felt immediately comfortable with him. We drove to the parking deck of his office building, the level we parked on was completely empty, but when we walked inside the lobby area was very busy. We rode up to his office in the elevator, all the offices were closed and dark. He unlocked his door and I waited in the waiting room for about 20 minutes while he did some work. I took advantage of the time and was able to send my daughter a few messages. Dr. Sauceda and I went over my paperwork and medical history, then went into the exam room where he told me to take off everything but panties and put on a robe with the open part to the front, he said to call him when I was ready. I did as instructed. When he walked in he said to take off the robe..... I also took off my house shoes, he didn't seem impressed with them and at that moment they were more annoying than they were comforting. I won't go into too much detail, but the markup was exciting, he starts in a specific area and measures placing his lines, you have to stand, lay down, stand, turn, raise arms, lower arms, etc. Once he is satisfied he had me stand in front of the mirror and he showed me where he would cut, what he would remove and what outcome he was hoping to achieve. He is very honest and direct in what he feels he can do, he says the rest is up to our bodies, first in how we are put together and the tissue he will be working with, second in how we heal. He said everyone's skin is different and even our skin can be different from one part of our body to another. One persons results will not be another's because we are all different from each other, even though we have the exact same procedure the results can drastically vary. The toughest part of the whole evening was deciding whether to add breast augmentation in addition to the lift. In the end I opted for small implants to give the upper pole a little more fullness which a lift alone would not do. He said he would probably use 250cc implants.
Arms, butt, tummy, abdomen, hips, breasts.... All marked and ready to go!! He ok'd me to take a Tylenol PM to help me sleep, but nothing past midnight, even water. I took the PM and was asleep quick, but not before taking a few photos from my markup.
