Choosing a surgeon

(photo caption: a headless photo of a person in a doctor's white outfit, wearing a stethoscope, with arms crossed in front of their chest).

I can't exactly pinpoint the day when I decided that the time was now, and that I was going to go ahead with the surgery. I had started to organise my wedding dress in 2019 (for 2021), and that was definitely a big factor. I had picked the design and the dressmaker, and I started to really think about how I would feel on the day wearing it. How I would do my hair, my makeup, and how it would feel walking down the aisle.

Now, I'm not a thin person. For much of my life I have been both thin and active, but I was born with a disability that has made my mobility increasingly limited, especially since entering my 30's, and then I was also unfortunate enough to develop an incurable condition called endometriosis. So, when picturing walking down the aisle, I was already at peace with the idea that I was, and am, going to be a bigger bride than the ones you see in all the magazines, and that's totally fine. My body still rocks. But in examining all of that, I understood that there was one part of me that I was completely unable to make peace with, and that was the size of my breasts.

To some of you reading this, that might sound stupid, ridiculous, whiny, whatever. If so, you don't get me, or my journey, so you might as well not read any more of this blog! To me, it was a big sign that something needed to change.

It's not just about how I'm going to feel on that wedding day, that day just happens to represent one of many phases of my life, and a new part of my life journey. The bigger picture is, how would I feel ten, twenty, thirty years down the line if I never got the surgery? I'm 100% sure that I would regret it.

Living in the Channel Islands, I may have more or less choice than where you, the reader lives, but overall I consider my choices to be very limited.

1) There was no option for me to get this surgery paid for by my health provider (the government). They do offer some breast reduction surgeries, but the criteria is so narrow that there was no way I would have been accepted as a candidate.

2) Living on a small island means that there is generally less access to health professionals.

3) I did not want to travel to have the surgery. This was a big deal for me. The idea of having a surgery and then getting on a flight to come home was just unbearable. And what about the aftercare? Would it be as good? It just felt too frightening.

So, after reviewing the surgeons available, it became apparent that there was in fact only one suitable surgeon. They are highly recommended, local, and they perform the surgery in the local hospital. The downside is they require full payment (around £6,000) in full before the surgery. Although I intend to take out the necessary loan to pay for this, it is a large amount of money, and that is why I am crowdfunding to see if any kind souls out there have a few spare pennies. Yes, I know, there are more worthy causes.

If you should have any spare pennies, please click the link below:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lisasweddingbreasts/

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lisasweddingbreasts/

If you would like to know more about the surgeon that I have selected, you can find them at the link below. I found Dr Stephenson to be completely understanding and sympathetic, and I have full confidence that he is going to give me a good outcome. (If he doesn't, I'll rant here about it post-surgery.)

https://www.jerseysurgery.co.uk/