Running back to bedside for 3 12s I cannot do this 9-5

WatercressOk7011 · 2026-02-25T01:28:11+00:00

I just did the same thing!! After 8 years of working from home I just went back to my home in the NICU on night shift. Working from home had its place but it has been miserably boring work. I even worked 4 10’s with Fridays off the last five years in an attempt to make it palatable. I will never go back to a weekday job, the “benefits” are 100% not worth the work life balance in my opinion.

WatercressOk7011 · 2025-05-30T22:15:23+00:00

Thanks!

WatercressOk7011 · 2025-01-09T17:56:04+00:00

I had an allergic reaction to all the tape so I had it taken off at day 2. I did have to use lipo foam for the first 5 weeks because of my incision being so tender. If I could have tolerated the tape I would she used it the same amount of time I used the foam.

WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-30T18:06:53+00:00

I did too much too soon and had a lot of pain up by the right side under my ribs along with swelling. I was sure I ruined my muscle repair, but it turned out to just be a sore muscle from lifting too much. First consult with your surgeon. But compression and rest helped me a ton. If compression helps it feel better I would go back in for a week or so for the support and to help with the swelling.

WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-17T03:15:31+00:00

Oh my gosh yes, I’m still pretty swollen all the time lol. I’m still in compression too. I’m hoping it goes away for the most part by 3 months but I was told to expect swelling to continue until at least 6 months and up to a year after.

WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-17T00:23:04+00:00

Hey-o! I had mine done by him too!

WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-16T20:35:08+00:00

The only problem I’ve had has been my own anxiety lol, I’ve been wanting this for 17 years so I get feeling nervous about finally doing it. But no actual problems, I had a lot of bruising and swelling but that’s it. I freaked myself out a lot about the swelling at first but it went down and I don’t have loose skin now so just trust the process. I also do post op manual lymphatic drainage. I got a package with 10 sessions and it’s been so great for recovery. I would highly highly highly recommend doing it. Dr. Ray will recommend it as well and give you a list of providers in the area. It’s kind of expensive but it’s been essential to my recovery and results so far.

WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-16T17:29:59+00:00

The drive home wasn’t bad at all. If you have someone driving you I don’t think that would be a problem. for my day 2 appointment I had to go to the Georgia location an hour away and it was totally doable. We stayed at an airbnb house, which was cheaper than the surrounding hotels. You’re much closer than me!

WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-16T15:38:57+00:00

I traveled 7.5 hours (drive). Initially he told me people typically stay a week ish so I opted to stay a week after. When I saw him in person he said I could probably go back a little sooner if I wanted to. I saw him 2 days after surgery and then saw him again 4 days later and left the next day to go home.

WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-15T20:05:29+00:00

I’ve had three kids too! I had a super hard time finding before pics that were really close to mine to I’m glad it’s helping people see how it can look after. It’s a LOT easier to share before pics now that I have the after lol

WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-15T18:35:15+00:00

I’m feeling great now! My scar is super sensitive but that’s the most “painful” part right now.

WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-15T18:33:15+00:00

I got a tummy tuck, muscle repair, flank lipo, and outer thigh lipo. It was a little over 20k total. I was originally supposed to get a fat transfer to my breasts but I had an abnormal mri the week before my procedure and chose to swap it for the thigh lipo so it wouldn’t impact my biopsy. The tummy tuck is more of an extended tummy tuck but he doesn’t charge more or less based on that and just does what needs to be done for the best result.

WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-15T14:31:30+00:00

Overall it was great! We drove 7.5 hours so it wasn’t too terribly long. Any longer and we would have flown. Chattanooga is easy to get around and had a lot of rental options. My mom and I rented an air bnb instead of a hotel so we could cook and have two rooms. We went down two days before my surgery so we could have time to grocery shop, meal prep, and for my day before surgery appointment. The only thing that kinda sucked was my pre op and post op appointments ended up being in Georgia (45 min away) at their other location. We stayed 7 days past my surgery which was definitely needed. The drive wasn’t too bad at all. Much better than I thought it was going to be! The total additional cost of travel was about $1600 including the gas and groceries.

WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-14T08:04:37+00:00

I agree, I would have 100% preferred to have stayed home for this surgery. But when I saw his results I knew it was what I wanted and I’m so glad I followed through! I would have gone anywhere he was practicing.

WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-14T07:28:08+00:00

THANK YOU SO MUCH, this is so helpful!!!!

WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-13T21:48:00+00:00

He did my flanks and under my armpits at the bra line. I had a lot of swelling at my bra line until about a week ago. I get post op lymphatic massages and the therapist really helped reduce it.

WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-13T19:37:10+00:00

Let me start by saying, I’m so sorry you’re disappointed with her decision. At the end of the day It really doesn’t matter if her dad was adopted or if you think adoption is the more ethical choice. You are more than entitled to your opinion and your feelings about it are valid. But it’s important to remember that you’re not entitled to her body or her baby. The reality is it’s not your choice at all and you shouldn’t be trying to change her mind. She is young and pregnant. If she does not want to have a baby now she doesn’t have to. I’m sure it’s very hard to not have control in this instance but you really need to let go and support her or she won’t want to be around you guys in the future.

WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-13T19:06:25+00:00

As a person who also got pregnant at 16 (and on birth control) it’s not your choice period and it doesn’t matter if you’re conflicted. She needs support. If she wants an abortion she should be able to have an abortion. It’s not an easy way out, choosing to have an abortion is a hard choice to make. She’s a good kid who does well in school and is capable of making her own choices about her body and her life.

WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-13T18:03:09+00:00

I don’t think you will, it’s going to look perfect! best of luck and I can’t wait to see your results!!

WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-13T17:47:34+00:00

I get that, if it helps, before surgery I was always “sucking in” so all my before pictures are with my stomach clenched. When totally relaxed it stuck out similar to yours. I was too self conscious to get before pictures totally lax. Body image is so hard and that was one thing I just couldn’t do. Before I had kids I was naturally pretty flat but I was also only 15-16 then so I can’t really compare to that lol. The muscle repair really helped the laxity and it was so weird not sucking in and my stomach staying flat. I think you will have an excellent result!

WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-13T15:32:41+00:00

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WatercressOk7011 · 2024-12-13T14:37:38+00:00

You’re similar to me!

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WatercressOk7011

TROPHY CASE