My name is Judy Terra. I'm 66 years old. I've had an eye lift done, and I've had under my eyes done. Then I also had a deviated septum taken care of in my nose. Then when he did that, he made my nose a little bit smaller. I'm really happy with all the surgeries I've had done.
I had the surgeries done because I am getting older. I felt that my eyes were getting kind of on the squinty side, making me look older. My nose, I was having a hard time breathing. And when Dr. Fernau took a look at it, he said there was definitely a problem going on there and suggested that we also contour the nose a little bit while he was inside taking care of the deviated septum. So I went along with it. I'm very, very pleased with Dr. Fernau's work.
I chose Dr. Fernau because I went online and looked at the different doctors. He was listed on this one website of the best doctors around, the best plastic surgeons. I knew I should go for a plastic surgeon, Dr. Fernau had all of the credentials. I was very pleased with everything that I read there. He had a lot of recommendations. So I decided I should go with Dr. Fernau. Then that weekend, he called me. He was so personable. He made me feel like I was part of the family. He really wanted me to just come down and talk to him and his staff. His staff if wonderful. They make you feel like you're at home, you're part of the family. Just at that point in time, I decided this was what I was going to do.
My life has changed so much since I've had the surgeries done. I have a lot more confidence in myself. I was kind of staying to myself for a while there, and now I'm very outgoing, getting involved in different things since I've retired and not hiding at home, because I feel prettier, I feel more confident about my looks and everything. It was a major change in my life.
My sister responded by saying she's coming down with me. So she actually, we made an appointment for her at the same time. We both spoke with Dr. Fernau and with Sheila and Cindy and Sherry, and she decided to have some work done, too.
I told a few of my friends. I didn't want to say too much to my friends about it until the surgeries were actually done. My daughter was kind of hesitant, because she didn't want anything to go wrong. But after she saw the outcome, she was real happy for me. So the family and several friends were really happy that I was having it done, and they wanted to see the outcome, and they were very pleased when they did see it.
Well, if I have a friend or somebody who wants to have cosmetic surgery done, I would tell them to make sure they talk a long time with the surgeon to make sure that person is a plastic surgeon, not just a cosmetic surgeon. Because if anything goes wrong, the plastic surgeon can take care of it. And Dr. Fernau, he knows everything. I mean, he is so well-versed on all different things, that he knew if anything was going wrong, it could be taken care of, he could take care of it, and he wasn't going to just let you hang there.
I was scared. When I was going to have the procedures done, either or, I was petrified. I wanted to get it done though, so I set my mind that I was going to get it done. The worse part was, I had to come down with no makeup. It didn't matter what my hair looked like. I made sure I had a big hat, so that I could cover my face in the car.
The day of the procedure, Dr. Fernau, Cindy, Sheila, and Sherry, they all made me feel at ease. It was like nothing. It really, everything worked out just as it was supposed to. I was very pleased with the way they handled everything for me.
The recovery for my eyes was... well, your eyes were actually closed for overnight, and I had to come back the next day. There was just like a little stitch in the eye to keep it closed. After he undid that, there was absolutely no pain. The discomfort was that I wasn't able to see real well right away, but the eye surgery, no discomfort, no pain. Just you're laid up for a little while. You have to have someone help you, and I did. That worked out great.
My only discomfort with the nose, and there was no pain, was the breathing, because everything is swollen. You have a little bit of a problem breathing. But then, I used a neti pot after a while, and that helped to take the swelling down. Everything turned out fine with that, too. I was real happy with my nose.
For the eyes, it took me probably three to four days for me to be able to get around very easily around the house. The recovery was actually quick on my nose. There was very little downtime. I mean, I could go out. I had some black and blue marks, but I could go out. I stayed out of the sun, of course. But I would go out to eat and things like that. I'd just wear a pair of sunglasses.
Dr. Fernau, any time anybody has seen what I have had done to my face, my nose, they've asked me who my plastic surgeon was, and I would tell them. I would explain to them where he is and how the place works and how nice the people are here. I have had a couple of friends who have come down. Actually several friends who have come down to see him, and they've been quite satisfied.
Cindy has done Fraxel. I've had a couple or three Fraxel procedures done. She has does any lasering that wherever there's a little bit of scarring left, she'll do the laserings to make the scarring go away.
Sheila has done Artefill for me. I've been getting Artefill in the cheeks, because as you get older, your cheeks kind of sink in. I've never really had full cheeks, so Cindy and Dr. Fernau have been putting the Artefill in the cheeks. I'm really happy with that.
Now when I go out, because I was always so self-conscious about the marks on my face from having had acne as a child, I go out and I don't try to hide my face anymore. I don't use as much makeup. I'd use a very heavy cover on my face to cover, a makeup cover is what it was. Now I don't have to do that. I can actually just put like a moisturizing cream on my face, go outside, and I feel comfortable. I feel like people aren't looking at my face anymore because of the marks. They're looking at my face because it looks clear, it looks like it should've looked when I was a child. It's made my life a lot, lot better, believe me. I really owe them a lot for that.
When I come down here, and if I come down by myself, or if I come down here with my sister, I better figure on a three or four-hour stay, because we get to talking. I talk with the staff. They give me advice. They tell me what I should and shouldn't do. As soon as you walk in the front door, Brittany's, she's a thrill to see. Mary's fantastic. Sheila, she's great. I mean, they're all so caring. They want to make sure that you're comfortable. They don't want you to be in any pain. They want you to get exactly what you want. They don't want to try to tell you what to do, although they will recommend what they feel should be done. But they won't push you into it. They just give you ideas. It's very comforting to know that I'm not under pressure, that I'm getting done what I want to have done by people who are very caring for me.
