Paula’s Story
By Paula
July Contest Winner

I am 43 years old, 5'3" and approximately 125 lbs. and have two children ages 20 and 22. Except for when I was younger and heavier or pregnant, my breasts have been very small - a 34AA. My husband of 23 years and I nicknamed them "raindrops" if you get my drift - ha, ha. Anyway, I had never even considered breast augmentation because I thought it was only for the very wealthy and I have always been kind of a health nut and wouldn't dream of putting something foreign into my body.

In the summer of 2004 I met a woman a little younger than me who had breast cancer in her family and had radical mastectomies to prevent cancer (it was fairly rampant in her family) and went through reconstruction. I had her over one day for coffee and noticed that she looked great, while I felt I looked rather pathetic. I have always exercised and done plenty of push-ups to build my chest, but I think this only made me look more boyish.

She and I started talking and she encouraged me to go for a consultation. So I brought it up to my husband and he wasn't too supportive at the time - of course, neither one of us knew much about breast augmentation surgery. I got on the Internet and started researching the surgery and got scared off by so many risks. So, I parked the idea.

Six months later another friend of mine and I were looking through the Venus catalog for swimsuits and noticed all the nice breasts and I mentioned to her that I had thought about having the surgery but got scared and decided not to pursue it. She called me a short time later and asked me to get the name of my friend's doctor and said we should go for a consultation. So, we did.

The consultation was scheduled for March 4, 2005. I wanted to be prepared for the consultation so I did a lot of research on the Internet starting in January of 04. Breast Implants 411 was the site I used the most for information. It was very accurate, honest, and detailed. I discussed this information with my husband and I looked at plenty of before and after photos. We talked it over some more and I could tell he was beginning to like the idea. I decided in January to make an appointment for the surgery on March 24, 2005. I took vacation and would have ten days to recover at home.

I had the consultation with Dr. Mark Migliori in Minneapolis, MN because he had come highly recommended by my friend, her mother and her sister. I decided I didn't need any further consultations. I had the surgery on March 24, 2005. Dr. Migliori did an outstanding job!

We decided on the 355cc new cohesive gel implants (the "gummy bear implants"), specifically, the Mentor Contour Profile Gel Breast Implant, under the muscle and the incision was under the breast. I didn't have any bruising whatsoever. I did have quite a lot of pain and slept in a chair for the first week. The day after the surgery Dr. Migliori looked at me and said they looked great, but of course, were pretty swollen and he told me I would just have to trust him.

I held onto those words the first week, I'll tell ya! In addition, I have been using Neosporin's Scar Solutions and after nine weeks my scars are barely visible. I go for my ten-week follow-up visit next week and they look awesome! Every time my husband sees them he tells me how beautiful they are. They look and feel so natural and it's so nice not to have to do push-ups anymore. In addition, I walked into J.C. Penney's and bought two C cup bras in ten minutes! That was unheard of before. I can wear so many awesome tops and swimsuits now and actually fill them out because even wearing the water or gel bras my "raindrops" never filled them out anyway. And, of course, our sex life is a whole lot better too because I am not so self-conscious anymore, and, like I said, my husband tells me they are beautiful. He said it was the best money he has ever spent!

My bottom line is I am so thankful that God has given the artistic talent to plastic surgeons to help those of us that were not blessed with beautiful bosoms be able to have them!

Signed, No More RAINDROPS!