Roseann & Peter
Having a face lift was always in “my plan” and I started saving for it when I was 30 years old thinking I’d probably need it by the time I was 40. Fortunately I didn’t, but by age 57 I sure as hell did! I was miserable every time I looked in the mirror. I don’t think I am particularly vain, I seldom wear make-up and I am definitely not a clothes-horse. But that saggy jaw line, the “Howdy Dowdy” mouth and droopy eyelids depressed me to no end. So, I began my quest to fix me. I attended a thread lift seminar and had a consultation with the surgeon; but I decided that the procedure was too expensive for results that were likely short-lived, much like $10,000 face “fat transplants.” A sympathetic friend sent me a few books on plastic surgery, one titled “Beauty from Afar” which I read and so began my search for a plastic surgeon outside the U.S.. For someone like me who had limited international travel and no experience with medical professionals outside the U.S.A., visions of not-so-sanitary conditions, surgeons whose “other” jobs were as barbers, this was very, very scary! (We Americans think we’re the best at everything and obviously that’s not true. Otherwise, how would anyone else in the world survive?) I spent countless hours on the Internet. I read blogs, sent and received emails. Finally, I narrowed down my choice to Dr. Lev and CIMA Hospital. I had considered an impressive plastic surgery group with their own clinic but then I thought, “What if What if something does go wrong? Would I rather be in a world renowned CIMA Hospital or some private clinic?” So from there the choice was simple and I chose Dr. Lev.
When my husband Peter learned how much my trek to Costa Rica for face-lift surgery with Dr. Lev would cost, he said, “I think I’ll have one too!” I was thrilled! Peter is a very handsome man but, like me, was getting saggy and jowly. Knowing that we don’t look very glamorous immediately after surgery, I was afraid that if he were to see me the day before his own surgery, he would chicken out. So I scheduled him to go first because I was determined to go through with it, no matter how bad he looked after surgery!
We figured we might as well enjoy a bit of Costa Rica so we planned a short vacation before our surgeries. After meeting with the affable Dr. Lev for our consultations, we went to CIMA hospital to have our pre-op blood tests. What a savings that turned out to be! We spent the next few days visiting La Paz Waterfall Gardens, zip lining in the cloud forest and touring the rain forest. In hindsight, we wish we had spent much more time vacationing before our surgeries. Costa Rica is a beautiful, beautiful place and the people are friendly and kind.
