Tasha had three kids, back to back. No matter how much weight she lost, her tummy was not going away.
“People would ask me if I was pregnant… and I wasn’t!” she says. When her sister-in-law was expecting, Tasha’s kids asked her if she had a baby in her tummy, too. Her husband shushed them with a “Don’t say that!” but, as Tasha says, “You know, kids are honest.”
Taking Action
Tasha knew that something had to change. She was so unhappy about her physical appearance that it affected her relationships, including her marriage and her joy in mothering. At the same time, she was nervous about undergoing surgery.
“I’ve never had general anesthesia. I have three kids. I have a husband. I have responsibilities. I mean, this is a big decision. I went back and forth for a very long time.”
Tasha researched for years about tummy tucks, including the procedure and what to expect. She read blogs, watched videos, read through websites and looked at photos. She searched for tummy tuck surgeons in nearby Denver, the closest major city to her smaller mountain town, as well as out of state. It was Tasha’s extensive research that led her to tummy tuck specialist Dr. Francesco Campanile.
“I’d found his website earlier when I was looking for surgeons in the area, and I liked his before and after pictures, but I didn’t want to base too much on that,” she explains. “Then when I researching, I found an article on a totally different website that mentioned him and the C.L.A.S.S. tummy tuck. I thought, if this random site thinks he’s good, I should add him to the list of surgeons I should check out.”
Her Consultation Experience
Tasha refused to rush the process of finding the right surgeon. “I met three or four doctors altogether, the first one several years before Dr. C,” says Tasha. “My previous experiences were really disappointing. Then I met with Dr. C and it was just—amazing. The girls, the office, everything. I felt like I was the only person they were seeing that day. Dr. C answered every question I had in an honest way. There was just no doubt in my mind that I would be totally taken care of. After I met Dr. C, I knew I was done looking.”
Tasha was interested in Dr. Campanile’s exclusive C.L.A.S.S. tummy tuck, a drain-free abdominoplasty that also incorporates liposuction.
“I was drawn to the liposuction and the easier recovery time, and I thought the scars looked better too,” says Tasha. “And not having drains was important. My mom was going to help me during the recovery, and I didn’t want her or my husband to have to deal with drains. And I didn’t want my kids to be scared.”
Surgery and Recovery
Tasha was still a little nervous before surgery (“My husband was more nervous,” she says), but after surgery, Tasha was pleasantly surprised at how easy the recovery was.
“At first it was tough. I was sick from the anesthesia, and the pain meds gave me these horrible headaches. Then I got a new prescription and my head was fine. I never had severe pain in my stomach. If it hadn’t been for my head hurting, recovery would have been a breeze. I mean, laughing hurt. Sneezing hurt. But I have a whole case left of pain meds. I just didn’t need them. I did a lot of research about recovery, so I bought tons of supplies but I didn’t end up needing any of them.”
Loving Her Results
Tasha couldn’t be happier with her results. “I had my surgery in March, and by summer I was in a bikini,” she says. “I didn’t want six-pack abs. I have a bit of a booty and I have thighs, and I wanted a belly that was soft. I have a great shape. It was just the hanging skin that had to go. Pretty much all the stretch marks on my tummy are gone, although that was never really an issue for me; it was just the extra skin.”
“I love being able to wear what I want and look great from all angles. Before, when I went shopping, I used to only look good head-on. When I turned to the side, I could only see my belly. It’s so nice being able to go shopping now and not cry!”
“I’m really happy with what I have now. It’s such a huge difference for me. I wanted to work really hard on my own to get as far as I could and lose the weight. The surgery helped me get back to who I am and who I wanted to be.”