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WEEK TWO
Until
last week, I
didn’t know that I
had blue eyes.
When the steri
strips came off, I
couldn’t believe
they were my eyes
and I just kept
staring at them. I
now have to look
at the before
pictures to remind
me of how awful I
looked.
I inherited
droopy eyelids
from my father’s
side of the
family. All his
brothers and
sisters have
eyelids that hang
over the eyes. My
vision has also
improved. The next
thing I noticed
was that the
daylight was so
bright I had to
wear sunglasses
most of the time.
It probably
explains why I
always used to
walk around the
house putting the
lights on.
I went to a work
meeting on Tuesday
evening and all
the women
commented on how
much younger I
looked. When I got
up to talk to the
group, one of the
young men came up
to me afterwards
and said I looked
‘really
marvellous’.
Everyone seems to
be reacting to me
differently now –
even if it is only
a quizzical stare
because they can’t
work out what has
changed about
me.
My mother made
the worst fuss of
all. She said she
couldn’t see any
difference and how
could I put myself
through all that?
My father, however
thinks I look
better.
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WEEK
THREE
I
feel
as if I have been
given a good 10
years back. I no
longer believe
that I have to get
older. My face now
matches the age of
my body, which has
always been in
good condition. I
am really pleased
with my eyes
because I can wear
eye makeup and you
can finally tell I
have long
eyelashes. I still
have a little
numbness just in
front and behind
the ears but
that’s fading
slowly, so I’m not
worried. The scars
are occasionally
red and I put
vitamin E oil on
them at night to
help them
heal.
A friend said that
my face now looks
softer. I am not a
hard person but
because my face
looked very stern,
no one spoke to me
unless they had
to. Now I find
that new people
are suddenly
making lots of
conversation.
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FIVE WEEKS LATER (
23RD SEPTEMBER
)
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Five
weeks
after my surgery, it’s
time to show off my
face-lift to the
world. Because I need
a new hairstyle to go
with my new face,
Journal has
arranged for me to
have some hair
extensions from
Antenna. First my own
hair has to be
coloured to match the
extensions and because
it is rather brown, it
is a long process.
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Once my hair is
blonde, it looks so
different that I begin
to get apprehensive.
But approximately four
hours later, I have a
beautiful head of long
blonde hair and a
husband whose eyes are
out on stalks. His jaw
nearly hits the
floor.
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At
the
studio, a surprise is
waiting upstairs for
me.
It’s Cindy Jackson –
having her makeup
done. I’m
thrilled.
She looks just as
wonderful as her
photographs. Here is
my inspiration for my
face-lift shaking my
hand and asking me how
I am. This is just too
good to be true. After
our makeup is done and
we’ve taken our pick
from the rail of
slinky designer
dresses, the photo
session begins. It’s
obvious that Cindy is
a professional when it
comes to posing. She
gives me tips on how
to stand to flatter
the dress. I am still
learning what my new
face looks like and
now I have to cope
with the hair as
well.
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Back
home in Norfolk, away
from the glamour of
the photo shoot, I
venture out for a
quick shopping trip. I
make my way straight
to a makeup counter
inspired by some new
suggestions from the
makeup artist at the
photo session, I need
some different
products. I've only
been there a few
minutes when an
assistant asks if I
need any help. I’m
shocked – I never got
this treatment as a
shorthaired redhead. I
often stood for ages
trying to work out
which colour I needed,
while the staff tapped
their feet impatiently
because I was in the
way of shelf stacking.
But on my way home,
I’m in for yet another
surprise, as a couple
of men smile as they
walk past.
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THE
VERDICT
I would
certainly
have another face-lift if
I thought I needed it – or
any other cosmetic
surgery, come to that. I
only have to look at the
before pictures to remind
myself of why I had it
done in the first place.
There’s no way I would
want to go back to looking
the way I did. I feel much
happier about my
appearance now. It’s not
that I hated myself
before; I just decided
that I didn’t want to look
so old
.
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I
teach
confidence
building
and
self-esteem
and
wouldn’t
recommend
that
anyone
uses
cosmetic
surgery
as a
tool
to
build
confidence.
You
need
to
learn
to be
confident,
no
matter
what
you
look
like
and
then
make
changes
to
your
appearance
when
you
can
justify
the
reasons
to
yourself.
And
don’t
ask
for
anyone
else’s
opinion
unless
you
really
want
it. |
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‘Cindy
is a
professional
when
it
comes
to
posing. She
gave
me
tips
on how
to
look
good
and how
to
flatter
the
dress’
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NB. The
name of the
surgeon has been
left out of the
copy of this
article
deliberately.
After the
publication of
this feature the
surgeon was
subject to an
investigation by
the GMC after many
patients had
complained that
they had not
obtained the same
results.
As a result of the
controversy this
article caused,
Linda set
up her own
Information
Service
to try to help
those seeking
cosmetic
surgery.
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