Amy,
My first husband was close to being inducted, and then began working evenings and couldnt attend so he never completed it.  It was hard for me as well, b/c Im a no secrets kinda person.  I know they are a great organization and do great work, but I understand your frustration.  Like Susan said, there are way worse things he could be doing, but just remember to keep the communication lines open, and let him know you are interested in what he is doing.  You might also meet one of the wives of the other masons, and they can add some insight.  Good luck, hang in there, and know he is involved in a great organization.

Hugs and Merry Christmas,
Rhonda D.

Oh Ann, I'm so very sorry. What a terrible time for this to happen, not that there's a GOOD time, but heck!

Please know we'll all be thinking about you tomorrow night, knowing you're where you should be, taking care of Charles.
Where will his surgery be? Who is doing it?

Please take care, and know you're in my thoughts and prayers!!!

Hi!!!

What I Had Done
I had a breast lift w/ implants & excess skin removal (enough skin was left to accomodate the implant, but the rest was removed).  I had a 480 cc implant added on my right side & a 440 cc implant added on my left side.  (I guess I was like most people & lopsided to begin with - so he tried to make them more the same size by adding different amounts to each side.) 

I had lip of my hips and tummy.  They lipo'd a total of about 600 cc of fat out of my hips, tummy & kitty - which liquified would be a little over a 20 oz water bottle's worth of fat.

I had my kitty lifted.  Everyone says that after a tummy tuck, that area looks larger if you don't have anything done to it.  I did NOT want to look like I had man-balls or something weird going on, so I asked him to lipo & lift that area which he said was definately doable.  He did that with the same incision he used for the tummy tuck.  He made the upside down smiley face incision part of the tummy tuck incision as low as possible, then lipo'd it & lifted & stitched it up a little on the inside.  (It is actually one of the few stitches I can still feel pulling sometimes, so I can point to RIGHT WHERE IT IS even though it is not visible at all on the outside because that part is done inside.) 

I had a tummy tuck with muscle tightening.  He did an anchor incision on me because I had so much extra skin up top and thte anchor cut woud let him remove some of that.  He obviously did the upside down smiley face incision as low as possible to do the kitty lipo & lift, then he obviously came straight up the middle (looping around each side of my belly button) and connected the top of the tummy tuck scar to the bottom of my open RNY scar.  While they had me opened up and my skin flapped back off my innards, they stitched my stomach muscles together tighter right down the center of my stomach.  (My tummy muscles have been ruined since my first baby, so I needed that done BADLY.)  They cut away the excess skin and sewed me back together again! 

The first 2 days were pretty much a blur I was so medicated & achey.  The 3rd day was really a turning point day with regards to the aches & pain and how generally out of it I was.  The next turning point came at about 2 weeks when I noticed marked improvement in mobility w/out pain, etc. 

I had heard/read/etc before hand that PS was one of the most painful surgeries that a person can have next to orthopedic surgery.  Actually, I didn't find it to be that bad. 

The breast pain was mostly from the swelling.  I would compare the aches to what I had experienced as a breast-feeding-mother when I waited too long to breastfeed and my breasts seemed to get overly full.  This was like that - only you can't breastfeed this fullness away because it's swelling.  LOL  I didn't experience pain from the incisions on the breasts as they were mostly numb on the outside for a week or so post-op.  Even now with feeling coming back to them, the incisions only hurt when I hit a speed bump in the car or something.  Other than that, they don't hurt at all. 

The worst thing about having the breasts done (in my opinion) is that they want you to sleep on your back for the first week or so.  They say you CAN sleep on your side if you absolutely CAN'T sleep on your back - but they'd rather you sleep on your back.  This is for a lot of reasons, but mainly it's because the implants are settling and they want them to settle and heal in place evenly.  The best way to ensure that is to not spend long periods of time with them turned one way or the other.  Flat on your back allows them to settle evenly on both sides, etc.  I am NOT a back sleeper.  I lasted 4 or 5 days on my back, then HAD to start sleeping my side to actually GET some sleep.  I did notice I was uncomfortable pain wise on my side and I wasn't when I was on my back - so it's less painful if you can sleep on your back too.  I just couldn't do it anymore after 4 days or so.  (Mine aren't crooked, so I don't think I did myself in.  LOL) 

You also have to wear a bra constantly - even when you sleep.  I'm actually getting used to that though.  I also had to wear a binder right under my armpits that wrapped around me (it was like a velcro belt) to push my breasts down.  Implants are usually initially put into place too high because surgeons know that they will "settle" downwards.  If they put them where they wanted them to end up initially, as they "settled", they would settle too low.  So the first day or so, I felt like my boobs were in my throat almost.  LOL.  So they put that binder around me to help push them downwards.  I only had to wear it for a day or 2.  (My mom didn't have to wear one at all - so it just depends on how high yours end up after surgery.) 

The tummy pain was where most of my constant discomfort came from.  I don't know how much of that was from lipo or muscle tightening or the actual tummy tuck - because I know all that's supposed to hurt. 

I do know that I had no bruising the 1st couple of days, then suddenly had bruising coming out of nowhere - but it wasn't bad at all.  In fact, the bruises (when they came) were only few and yellowish - not black & blue or anything like that.

I did have and continue to have soreness in my lips (in the area your hands would be touching if you stood with your hands on your hips).  Since I have no incisions there, that's the lipo making me sore.

The compression/support garments you have to wear post-op SUCK.  There is no other way to say it.  I hate them.  I have gone through 4 or 5 different ones trying to find one that doesn't suck to no avail.  They just all equally suck.  I have finally settled into Cupid (I think that's what they are called.) extra firm support panties from Wal-Mart with cuts make into the tops of the waist to give me breathing room up there.  I have had a hard time finding a small enough garment to firmly support my lower incision area that is not too small around the top of my waist where I don't WANT it that tight.  You have to wear that around 6 weeks.  That gives your stomach muscles time to heal, the skin the support it needs to let the incisions heal AND helps force the "empty tunnels" made by the lipo "vaccuum machine" to shut & heal closed with scar tissue.  (Who wants to get lipo, only to stay the same size because the areas that were filled with fat have healed as open empty space inside you?  I definately want those areas forced closed so that they heal tight and together.)  So prepare to hate your underwear for about 6 weeks post-op. 

Also, if you have ever had trouble going to the bathroom, be sure to stock up on colace.  I have NEVER had trouble going to the bathroom post-op UNTIL I had to take the painkillers after this surgery.  So if you are someone who ALREADY has trouble with that sort of thing, be sure you have enough colace.  You do NOT want to have to strain to go to the bathroom when your tummy is tucked! 

I used Dr. Herrold in Hot Springs.  www.arplasticsurgery.net  He has a place on his website where you can actually view SOME of the different ways he may choose to do your procedure.  (It's different for everyone depending on what exactly you want done, what is important to you, how much skin/fat you still have, etc.) 

I feel as strongly about him with regards to PS as I do about Baker for RNY.  I would not let another PS TOUCH me after the care I received there by him and his entire staff.  They could not have been better.  You'd have thought that I was family they treated me and momma so well.  I would recommend him to ANYONE. 

Good luck!

Wen

I know I haven't been on much lately but a lot has been going on around here. I wish I could be there Thursday but unfortunately I can't. My husband has been sick. A week ago he had to have a blood transfusion. After testing we now know he has a mass in his colon and has colon cancer and will be having surgery on Monday. So our kids and some other family members coming in this weekend.
He had a colonoscopy five years ago and everything was fine.  But this colonoscopy wasn't. So what you don't know can hurt you. I have one every five years because my mother died of colon cancer. My husband has no one on his side of the family that has ever had cancer. How strange.
I hope you guys have a wonderful time at Thursday's meeting. Maybe I can make the January meeting.
Blessings to all!!!

I can bring you whatever you'd like, just let me know

Hugs!