My consultation

I started saving a while ago and finally had the money to go ahead and do it.  I searched around for a while and looked at several (at least 10-15) plastic surgeons online in northern California and Nevada until I finally found one in Reno that I liked (Dr. James Murphy, MD, FACS, AMM).  I checked his license status and disciplinary record at the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners.  Active license and no black marks on his record.  That was a good start!  I looked at his website (http://www.nnpsa.com/) and was looking for a few main things:

1) Board certified plastic surgeon (check)
2) Surgery performed in a hospital (check)
3) Surgery performed with a board certified anesthesiologist (check)
4) Good "after" photos (check)

I spent a lot of time cruising around his website trying to get as much information as I could.  Once I felt comfortable that he could be a good fit for me, I filled out their online form to schedule a consultation.  The next day I received an email from his staff and a follow up phone call that afternoon.  The lady I talked to was professional and was not pushy at all, but I also was not wishy-washy on what I wanted.  I scheduled the consultation for December 3.

The day of the consultation I was so darn excited!  Chris went with me because he is usually a good judge of people and I wanted a second opinion.  I wouldn't make my decision about using a certain doctor until I met with him.  The office was nice and the receptionist was professional and friendly.  So far, so good.

It felt like forever, but I was finally called back.  I had to undress from waist up and was given a really nice white robe to wrap up in for the time being.  Dr. Murphy came in and was impressive.  He answered all of my questions (and if you know me, I ask a LOT) and never made me feel like I was wasting his time.  He wasn't in a rush to get to his next patient; it was like he came in that day just for me.  He took a brief look at "the girls" and somehow made it feel like it really wasn't all that weird that this man I just met is basically feeling me up in front of my husband.

After the consultation with the doctor, we went in to talk to Megan about the financial end of things.  Once we got all of our information, I pretty much knew that I wanted Dr. Murphy to do the surgery, but still wanted to sleep on it and talk to Chris just to be sure.  And sure enough, a few days later I called the office and scheduled the surgery for February 26!

Which is in two days.

Two days!!  Two.  More.  Days.

I was up until after one am (which is super late for me) the night of my first post because I seriously was googling way too much.  Luckily, I have a very nice (to me) friend who is a nurse (thanks Megan!!) and she answered a couple of my questions.

My main worries (at the moment) were...

1) Would I have to have a tube down my throat during surgery?

and most importantly...

2) Would they give me something to calm my nerves before surgery?

Her answers made me feel better:

1) Yes, but I won't remember it going in or coming out.

2) Yes, and if they don't, I can ask for it.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day waiting in anticipation of surgery the next day.  I have work 730-5 and then I'll have an hour to make sure that everything is all ready to go because we leave for Reno when Chris gets off work at 6.  Hopefully I can get one more pre-surgery post in, but if not... I'll be back after surgery!