Ouch

[Badtranny]

Oh my God, Melissa, you look GREAT! Still lots of swelling, but what a huge difference!
Lea

Look at the swelling in my boobs! Those things look and feel like soccer balls stitched to my chest right now. It's hard to even consider them mine as they do not feel like a part of me at all. The doc is telling me that they will feel hard and swollen until my body calms down and then they will literally settle in. IN A FEW WEEKS! Which is also the same amount of time I have to wear the Boob Binder(tm) which is this torture device they call a breast compression garment which is basically like a front clip bra that is 10 sizes to small with the right size cups. It's supposed to hold the implants in place while scar tissue is formed around them. It's a tiny bit uncomfortable.

[Michelle.M]

Look at her face? I'm 8 days out and she STILL is less bruised and swollen than I am. Whatever. I can't help it if I'm so delicate. ;-)

Full disclosure here. Misty's being kind. It's 3 days out for me and I have caught up in the bruises department and today I feel like crap. Getting better, but today she's the one looking good!

[Jorja]

Keep reminding yourselves it is worth every penny. In a few short weeks you will both look ravishing. Ah, to be young again!

[LeaP]

Full disclosure here. Misty's being kind. It's 3 days out for me and I have caught up in the bruises department and today I feel like crap. Getting better, but today she's the one looking good!

Michelle, I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was YOU (basically because of your avatar). Congratulations! And I hope the healing goes quickly!

Also, today is Easter. A symbol of renewed life. What could be more apt? May you both find it as you want and need it.

Lea

[Inna]

Gee, two trans girls under the same roof, with painful stories to share, this is gonna be H O R M O N A L! L O L !!!

I wish you galls most wonderful of Easter celebrations, a story of L O V E and T R U T H, no matter the consequences. And I am wayyyy jealous of the food you gonna smell coming from Vicente's kitchen. LUV YA, Inna

[Michelle.M]

Gee, two trans girls under the same roof, with painful stories to share, this is gonna be H O R M O N A L! L O L !!!

Yes, that'll be our new saying around here - "This is gonna be - wait for it - H O R M O N A L !"

[Badtranny]

Okay then, 11 whole days after my full body makeover and I'm beginning to remember why I came here in the first place. The doc says I'll be swollen like this for another three weeks and then still swollen for a few months after that but I should be able to start seeing what I'm going to look like in another couple of weeks. I already love the new hairline. Even with the Frankenstein scar it looks so much better than the aging rocker look I had before. Speaking of hair, it is coming out by the fist fulls. Argh, I think it was Julie (squirrel!) who told me that she lost a lot of hair during her surgery and damned if I'm not losing it too. It doesn't look much thinner, but my little hair band is barely tight enough to hold the ponytail now, so do the math. Oh well, it'll grow back, let the weak ones go. ;-)

[ReineD]

Honestly Melissa, after only 11 days I can see you. Your transformation will be great!

How painful is everything still?

[kimdl93]

Melissa, you're getting better every day!

[RachelOKC]

Okay then, 11 whole days after my full body makeover and I'm beginning to remember why I came here in the first place.

Looking a lot better, BIG contrast from that first pic! I'm starting to recognize you again!!!

[Badtranny]

Honestly Melissa, after only 11 days I can see you. Your transformation will be great!

How painful is everything still?

Thanks RD, ya know I don't think it's ever been painful aside from the little things here and there. A certain stitch under a boob, or in the forehead, or in your mouth will HURT on occasion, but mostly it's just a sustained and intense discomfort. Since I got so much done, everything I did was uncomfortable. Sitting, laying, standing, there was really no way to just relax for more than a few minutes at a time. The last couple of days have been great though. I can sit in many different positions and I even stretched for the first time this morning. I think what's bothering me the most right now are these giant boobs that won't be so giant in a few weeks. They are extremely firm and extremely out there. The Boob Binder(tm) is not SO uncomfortable any more except for how the band sits right on and irritates the incisions right beneath them. There is no joy in boobville right now I can say that for sure.

[AllieSF]

Wow, Melissa, you really are transforming now that the swelling is going down. It is a big difference from the first pic. Wish you the best and smile when you can.

[Stephanie-L]

Melissa, you are looking great. Definately better with the healing. Unfortunately one of the side effects of anesthesia on some people is temporary hair loss, I think the anesthesia stuns some of the folicals in the active stage, so eventually they will return to normal, but it will take months. I do not know how to predict who will have this, or how to prevent it, the only thing I can think of is the longer you are under, the more likely it will happen. I know people who have had several surgeries in a fairly short time (a few months) and had problems with hair loss on only one of them, so who knows. I expect you were under for a while so that may be why you are having a problem now. But, take heart, good nutrition and proper hair and scalp care, and you should see regrowth in a few months. You do look so very nice now and I wish you the best. I hope to be going through what you are doing in the future, so I look forward to hearing all you wish to tell us. Thanks.......Stephanie

[Aprilrain]

Wow Misty your gunna look great! My scars are still visible after 4 months but no one ever says anything about my hairline scar and I wear a head band that pulls my hair back all the time (hair is still too short for a ponytail)

[Starling]

Congratulations on your total transformation, Melissa. I've never heard of a more all-encompassing surgical session. What you did would probably have killed me--but at least I would have been spared the pain. Here's to a speedy recovery with stunning results!

Lallie

[Badtranny]

So here I am, trying to kill time before I finally get to go home early tomorrow morning. I still have a lot of healing to do but I definitely think I'll be better off at home from here on out. I will wake up on my 13th day of recovery at 3am-ish and then head to the airport for my short (4hour) flight back to my beloved SF Bay.

Below is a picture of Michelle Martin and I to give you some idea of how time passes in this place. I am less bruised and she is more bruised, each day is a new adventure in vanity around here.

I bought some huge sunglasses yesterday to hide my eyes, (Mexican Louies) but there's no hiding my still swollen jowls. Anyhoo, I get to go home tomorrow and I could hardly give a damn about how I look. ;-) Of course it WOULD be nice to smile, which I still can't do because my upper lip is still swollen.

[kimdl93]

So glad you're geting ready to go home. Its amazing to watch the healing process. You're really quite brave for sharing these pictures and this expereince.

[Badtranny]

So glad you're geting ready to go home. Its amazing to watch the healing process. You're really quite brave for sharing these pictures and this expereince.

Well thanks Kim but I'm the one who's always yapping about honesty and authenticity after all. Circumstances beyond my control have put my transition out in the open so I figure the best thing I can do is be as open as I can to help those who may be on the road behind me. Or maybe inspire those who don't belong on that road to rethink their motives. My choices are not for everyone as we all have unique abilities, tolerances, and opportunities, but I can be a roadside attraction at the very least.

[Kaz]

Hey Hobbesy... I am in total awe! What an experience! So many thanks for sharing... it has helped so much and has put so much into perspective!

Just get well quick! I am so looking forward to how it pans out... makes me realise how dumb I am ...

[Michelle.M]

Well, Melissa left VERY early this morning to go home, and now I'm the only one left here in the House of Broken Dolls.

Safe trip, Melissa! Let us know how it goes with your return home.

[Inna]

hey Michelle, hang in there, you may be by yourself but you ain't alone . Frankly, when it came to my departure I was in tears as I felt there like home, if given a chance I would still be hanging out with the boys probably speaking fluent Spanish by now ;p All my love hon!

[pickles]

Man, ouch is right!

Anyone know how advisable it is to get FFS type work done if you have cranial & jaw dysfunction?

Probably a really bad idea, but maybe it can be worked around?

[LeaP]

...now I'm the only one left here in the House of Broken Dolls.

Oooohh - that sounds so SAD! You're not broken, you're getting fixed!

Lea

[Jorja]

Oooohh - that sounds so SAD! You're not broken, you're getting fixed!

Lea

I agree, you are not broken, you're just fixing what was not right.

[Badtranny]

Safe trip, Melissa! Let us know how it goes with your return home.

I'm HOME!!!!

The plane was late and I finally landed in SFO at around 9:30ish SF time and it only took an hour and a half to get off the plane and go through customs. Why does it take people soooo long to grab their damn bag and walk off the plane? I mean seriously, stand up and walk already!

I got home and had a shower and was in bed fast asleep within 45 minutes. It was awesome and honestly felt like the first time I'd slept in forever. As nice and comfortable as Tyler and Vince try to make the recovery house, it is still a long way from home and my own bed was just about the best thing I could imagine. The last two weeks have been almost surreal for me. From the first day when I showed up after an all night flight, to the very next morning when I was rolled into surgery I was in a daze pretty much the whole time. Even to this morning when I felt fairly normal, but I'm walking through a Mexican Aeropuerto at 5am by myself with a bruised and swollen face trying to ignore the obviously curious glances. The whole experience was bizarre from beginning to end and I can say for sure that I will never forget that time and the people I met.

Coming home was wonderful and I'm looking forward to seeing some friends this weekend, even though I still feel pretty beat up and I definitely look like I had a beating. My roomie cannot stop commenting on how different (she means bad) I look. She has also already decided that my boobs are way too big. She's Bulgarian so she doesn't have that politeness problem that Americans are cursed with. ;-) I am feeling very relaxed and semi-comfortable right now for the first time. I have a few weeks of healing left to do yet, but you could say that I'm quite optimistic about it.