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	<title>WIRL Project &#187; Surgery</title>
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	<link>http://www.wirlproject.com</link>
	<description>What It&#039;s Really Like.</description>
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		<title>Thoughts on &#8220;The Scissors&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/thoughts-on-the-scissors/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/thoughts-on-the-scissors/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2015 17:00:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Alessandra Macaluso]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health/Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Love/Relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Big Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Complete]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Complete Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crazy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Girl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mistake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Multiples]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnant]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Scissors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Second Child]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Snip]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Surgery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vasectomy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=7567</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It wasn&#8217;t until I was in my twenties, that I learned I was a mistake. I was sitting at my parent&#8217;s dinner table. We were just chit-chatting about life, school, and other, you know, normal, non-life-altering conversations that could make you re-think your entire being, when it casually came out. &#8220;A mistake?&#8221; I said. My dad looked at me like I had ten heads. Then, in his thick Italian accent, and very matter-of-factly, he said: &#8220;Well, we had-a four boys. Then, we finally had your sister &#8211; our girl!&#8221; He paused, put his hand on mine, looked right into my eyes and said: &#8220;Why de fack would we want another one?!&#8221; I stared at him blankly, wide-eyed and slow-blinking. My mother piped up, in her strong New York accent: &#8220;But we&#8217;re so glad you&#8217;re HEA!&#8221; Umm, what &#8220;de fack&#8221; just happened?! Anyway, I&#8217;m thinking of this a lot today because I am 18 weeks pregnant, and yesterday was the day we found out what&#8217;s cooking. Turns out, it&#8217;s a BOY!! One of the first things people have said to us over the last 24 hours after hearing the news is &#8220;Yay, now Greg can go get snipped!!!&#8221; I think this is funny, and totally get why people say that &#8211; it makes sense that someone would want a boy and a girl. Maybe we never looked at it like that because I am the youngest of six children; 4 boys, then my sister, then me. My husband is one of four children; an older brother, a twin brother, and a younger sister. So I guess our parents kind of took the concept of a &#8220;complete&#8221; family and ran with it. And this extends beyond our parents; one aunt and uncle had six kids, and another had four. There were so many first cousins running around on any given family party that I don&#8217;t even know how anyone kept track. Our families didn&#8217;t have babies, they had litters. In our case, our choice to have another baby was not a mistake; we knew we were ready to grow our family. Truth be told, Greg actually wanted another girl, and we both really were convinced that a girl it would be. It&#8217;s not that he has anything against boys, it&#8217;s just that he is a little worried about what kind of boy he would produce. Him and his brothers were off the walls growing up, so he is a bit terrified. But it doesn&#8217;t matter &#8211; we&#8217;re having a boy! A little boy!! So yes, one and one. For now. Because we never even talked about, you know, the snipping. I mean, what if we&#8217;re not done yet? What if, after another year or two, I&#8217;m not ready to hang up the &#8216;CLOSED&#8217; sign? What if our upbringings get the best of us and one day, after I finally begin to feel like myself again, and the two miraculously are sleeping and eating and on manageable schedules, I drink too much cheap wine, go bat-shit crazy and decide I still want to birth a litter under the stairs? THESE ARE THE THINGS I JUST DON&#8217;T KNOW YET. I have no idea if that will be the case, or if it would even be possible. Maybe two is our magic number. I do know that, after having Penelope, as much as I love her, there were moments where I couldn&#8217;t even imagine entertaining the idea of having a second child in the first place because WHAT WAS I TAKING CRAZY PILLS?! I thought of women who had multiples and was in awe. I still am. Because babies are a lot of work. I mean, I knew it, but you don&#8217;t reeeeeeally know the ins and outs, the messy, tired, repetitive, taxing parts of it until your little one is here. Of course, you made the decision to have a child. Of course, you are going to do your best to take care of this tiny human with a fierce kind of love and determination you never had before, the kind that trumps getting poop on your finger, spit-up in your hair, and makes you constantly second-guess if you are even doing this right, for crying out loud. My mother had all six children within eight years. That&#8217;s not a typo. Let&#8217;s just say it &#8211; she is a special kind of crazy. I often ask her, &#8220;What were you thinking?&#8221; and each time, she shrugs her shoulders and her response is always the same: &#8220;I wasn&#8217;t!&#8221; When I ask her how the heck she handled all of us, she just says that she still has no idea, and that you just do it, you don&#8217;t have time to think about it. My aunt Angela had an entirely different response than the norm when I shared the news. Instead of reaching for the scissors, she said: &#8220;Yay! Then next time, whatever it is will be a sibling of the same for him or her!&#8221; Wait &#8211; what? Next time?! &#8220;We&#8217;ll see how two goes first,&#8221; I said, &#8220;I don&#8217;t know how you guys did it!&#8221; But she gave me the best response. She said: &#8220;All I can say is, if you like it, it works, no matter how many there are. Don&#8217;t think of it as work, it was a lot fun. Nothing is like a house full of little kiddies. I would have had two more.&#8221; At this point, I&#8217;m just thankful for happy and healthy. I feel so content with Penelope, and all I can think about is watching this tough little cookie give her little brother a run for his money. This, to me, right now, feels complete, but we will see what the future holds. My point in this little rant in which we run to put the scissors away, is this: a &#8220;complete&#8221; family is exactly what that is &#8211; to you. Maybe it&#8217;s a boy and a girl. Maybe it&#8217;s two little girls, or two little boys. Maybe it&#8217;s one child. Maybe it&#8217;s ten. Maybe it&#8217;s none. Maybe it&#8217;s you and your husband, maybe it&#8217;s you, your wife, and two dogs; maybe it&#8217;s you and your non-wedded partner for life; maybe it&#8217;s the two of you, your pet iguana named Fred, and a boat. Maybe it&#8217;s simply, beautifully, YOU, living your life to its fullest and doing just fine, thankyouverymuch. &#8220;I would have had two more. Don&#8217;t think of it as work, it was a lot of fun.&#8221; I&#8217;m raising my non-alcoholic beverage to you, putting the scissors in the drawer, and saying that, no matter what your situation, let&#8217;s make it fun. &#160; This post was originally published by Alessandra Macaluso on Punkwife.com. ]]></description>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Breast Augmentation Surgery: What It&#8217;s Really Like. Part 2: The Consult</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/breast-augmentation-surgery-what-its-really-like-part-2-the-consult/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/breast-augmentation-surgery-what-its-really-like-part-2-the-consult/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2015 09:00:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Anonymous WIRL]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health/Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anonymous]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Boob Job]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Boobs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Breast Augmentation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Breast Augmentation Surgery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Breast Augmentation Surgery Consult]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Breasts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Consult]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Doctor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Surgery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=5029</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; Upon leaving the consultation for a breast augmentation, I was consumed with excitement, frustration, and slight disappointment. The excitement was because the doctor seemed wonderful! He was educated, friendly, and comforting. The doctor made the suggestion of a silicone textured implant; his reasoning came from my body structure and proportions. However, as the doctor left the room the reality of the financial quote hit my husband and I! Wow!!!! This is even more expensive then we expected. Can we justify this cost for cosmetic surgery? We spent the day discussing the pros and cons. The conversation even became heated, as many financial discussions can when so much is at stake! The following day I spent my workday with this potential plan playing around in my mind! And when I thought about it, I was picturing myself doing it; I pictured the results! I know that I could easily trash the idea and just put our money towards our family, however, I have done that and will continue to do that for the majority of my life. I deserve to do something just for me! (Not that my husband won&#8217;t benefit, lol.) I bared my child and nursed her in the wee hours of the night, I dedicated every ounce of my energy to her little life, and that won&#8217;t change by giving me the body I want to have! That was the decision I made. All of the anxieties didn&#8217;t outweigh the excitement about feeling like a sexy woman again; not just a mother, but a WOMAN. I called my doctor and booked the surgery. Here I am two weeks before the date and I could not feel better about my decision! I&#8217;m ready to feel the way I felt before I was just a wife and mother. I think that I am confident in many aspects of my life; I&#8217;m intelligent, career driven, nurturing, and I try to be a respectful and genuine person to everyone I meet. It&#8217;s time for my body to match the internal confidence. Motherhood and giving birth is the most magical experience of my life; I would not change a thing about that life miracle! But, the damage it leaves in it&#8217;s wake is less than desirable, and every woman had the right to do whatever she can to feel desirable again! Stay tuned to learn about the surgery &#38; recovery!]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Breast Augmentation Surgery: What It&#8217;s Really Like. Part 1: Initial Thoughts</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/breast-augmentation-surgery-what-its-really-like-part-1-initial-thoughts/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/breast-augmentation-surgery-what-its-really-like-part-1-initial-thoughts/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Mar 2015 09:00:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Anonymous WIRL]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health/Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Body]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Boob Job]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Boobs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Breast Augmentation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Breasts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cleavage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Decisions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Itty Bitty Titty Committee]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Motherhood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nerves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nursing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Questions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Saline]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Silicone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Size]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Surgery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Woman]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=4442</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I believe it started with the phrase &#8220;Itty Bitty Titty Committee&#8221;, that&#8217;s the phrase that was what was mumbled to me in early high school. I realized I was not destined for a curvaceous womanly body; I was just a normal girl, with a normal body, and small breasts. I came to terms with my small chest. I knew which Victoria&#8217;s Secret bras would give me the ultimate effect of cleavage. I also knew that if I tightened the straps enough, I could create the illusion of mildly full breasts. On special occasions I would even insert those chicken cutlet things to fill out a special dress! (Crazy I know).  But, I was used to it. It worked for me. I came to the realization that this was my body, and I was happy with it.  And then my first child was born! My seemingly &#8220;Itty Bitty Titties&#8221; were full and perky! I felt womanly. My heart was bursting with love while my chest was bursting with cleavage. Oh the joys of nursing   Here I am, a year later and my full breasts are no where to be seen! What happened?!? Come backkkkk!  And who is this saggy, uneven, not-so-hot mess I see in the mirror! Is that what my new appearance is? Will I forever be the mom destined to wear a tankini!? It was time for drastic measures! I decided it was the time to consider fixing this unfortunate symptom of motherhood.  I researched and researched! I then made the decision to consider a breast augmentation.  But what can I expect? How do I know if this is the right decision for me?  It&#8217;s the morning of my consultation. The questions I have include the typical surgical ones including: size, silicone vs saline, position, incision site, healing time, complications, etc..  But the more anxiety provoking questions are the ones hanging over my head. Will I still feel like &#8220;me&#8221;? Will I have a safe surgery? Is the risk verses the reward worth it? Will my husband look at me the same way?  I am sure all of these worries are normal and part of making an important life changing decision. But, here we go! Today may be the first step towards finding a solution to my oh-so-unimpressive breasts.  Stay tuned for the post-consult decision. ]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Life Without a Gallbladder</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/life-without-a-gallbladder/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/life-without-a-gallbladder/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 20:00:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kaitlyn Slomski]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health/Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gallbladder]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[low fat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Surgery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[women's health]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=3702</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last April, I started having severe stomach issues and they got progressively worse, as if there is anything worse than projectile vomiting, until I gave in and went to the doctor to have things checked out. I had an inkling that it was more that the Acid Reflux that was diagnosed, so after being in excruciating pain followed by food poisoning-esque reactions, I pushed for testing. Sure enough, my gallbladder had sludge (yes, that&#8217;s a medical term), and was no longer functioning. At this point, I had not eaten more than a 1/4 cup of rice at a time for over a week and had lost about 5 lbs. The doctor said that I would need to have it removed, but their soonest surgery was not for one month&#8230;one month! I&#8217;d lost 5 lbs in a week. Sure, that doesn&#8217;t sound like a lot, but I&#8217;m 5&#8217;1&#8221; and weighed 140 at the time. Anyways, I called everywhere and got scheduled at a hospital for the following week. By the time I went in for pre-Op, I was down almost 10 lbs. and would have allowed them to remove the useless organ with a butterknife. Post-Op was tough. Four incisions into your abs was not a walk in the park.  I remember crying and calling my fiance from the bathroom and pathetically asking me to help me pull my underwear up&#8230;now, that&#8217;s love. I expected to feel better &#8211; and in a lot of ways, I did. My energy was increasing, my nausea was gone, and I could look at food and want to eat it. However, I did not expect to have so much trouble actually eating it! In my last meeting with the surgeon, a week after surgery, he asked if I was eating normally and my response was, &#8220;NO!&#8221; Fatty foods made me sick, large pieces of food pinched, and anything that resembled grease gave me heartburn like I could have never imagined. I was still sleeping on the couch because I couldn&#8217;t lay flat for crying out loud, and this guy was asking if I was back to normal. After some serious coaching from a wonderful woman who had had her gallbladder removed the year prior, I learned some very helpful tips that are worth sharing for anyone who also is gallbladder-less: Don&#8217;t eat more than 3-5 grams of fat per meal for the first couple of months Vegetables are your friend, but&#8230; Rice is your BEST friend Avoid: butter, oil, creamed soups, soups in general, etc. anything made of fat Your body is naturally acidic during your period, so eat blandly around that time Start taking Acid Reflux medication and prop up on pillows at night when something doesn&#8217;t agree with you Rolaids are a Godsend It takes 6 months to start feeling like a real person again Don&#8217;t even consider red meat until then Drink light beer and only light beer &#160; All told, I lost 35 lbs and feel great, but I wish the process would have been a lot better. I had a lot of &#8220;lightbulb&#8221; moments that made me feel silly in the midst of trying to get enough protein. I know that every one is different and that some people don&#8217;t have any issues, but I&#8217;ve heard a lot of people who have had similar problems (albeit temporary), and it seemed like information worth sharing! Enjoy your rice]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Medical Devices: Know the Real Story Before Your Next Procedure</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/medical-devices-know-the-real-story-before-your-next-procedure/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/medical-devices-know-the-real-story-before-your-next-procedure/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 21 Feb 2015 14:00:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sara Brennan]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health/Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Doctors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Healthcare]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hospitals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medical Device]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medical Procedure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Surgery]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=3209</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you&#8217;re anything like me, you read views and do your research before you buy pretty much anything. This is especially true for big purchases such as a car, appliance or computer, but we also do this for electronics, clothing and a million other things. We want know how things work before we buy them, and the internet can provide us with this information rather easily. So, it&#8217;s always baffled me that we don&#8217;t take more time to research what medical products or devices are used on or inserted into our bodies during surgeries and procedures. I just happen to be very close with someone who is a Medical Device Sales Representative and I&#8217;ve learned quite a lot about this industry through them. I&#8217;ve seen them lose deals with big hospitals because they&#8217;ve decided to &#8220;save money&#8221; and purchase or partner with other medical device companies whose prices are significantly less but their products far inferior. Of all the product reviews or testimonials and marketing tactics out there, you rarely see doctors or hospitals bragging about what products they use. This is mostly likely because they are using the cheapest, junkiest stuff on the market! By going the &#8220;cheap route&#8221; hospitals and doctors can charge the same prices (or inflate them even more) but increase their profit margins, even if it means the results on the patient aren&#8217;t as perfect as they could be. And get this, most of the time, the doctors don&#8217;t even have a say in what products they use! It&#8217;s all up to the corporate executives of the practice or hospital, who (most of time) have no medical background, training or knowledge. Everything about the way we buy things is presented to us in tiers. For example: you go to Banana Republic for a top of the line, &#8220;high-end&#8221; sweater, you go to Gap for a &#8220;mid-range&#8221; sweater and you go to Old Navy to purchase a sweater on a budget. The quality is close, and in the end you&#8217;re getting the same product, but most of the time you get what you pay for; so if it&#8217;s cheap your expectations may be lower than something that was more expensive. So, why aren&#8217;t medical devices set up in this way? Why, when we need a replacement, aren&#8217;t we presented with a list of options? I think we have the right to know and choose what products are used on our bodies. We have the right to know which product is the &#8220;Rolls Royce&#8221; vs. the &#8220;Prius&#8221;, and, if I decide I want to &#8220;shop around&#8221; then I may choose to travel further, to another hospital or doctor, to have my procedure done. If you could afford it, wouldn&#8217;t you choose the better knee, hip or heart, when needing a replacement? Do you even know that options like this exist? Most times, patients focus so much on the doctor they select, that they forget to consider what instruments or products they will be using during the procedure. I&#8217;m telling you, if it was me who needed a heart valve, knee, or hip replacement, I&#8217;d be looking to find the best of the best doctor AND product available. I may even be willing to spend a bit more to get the best I could for my health and my body. So, ask yourselves this&#8230;when you purchase a product, you typically buy the best your budget can afford, right? So, if you&#8217;re going to have a medical procedure done, are you really going to trust that the doctor is going to use the best products on you? Sure they&#8217;ll tell you what they use &#8220;works&#8221;, but is it the best? Do you even know how much your procedure is going to cost you out of pocket? Or what the price difference would be with another option? Would it be worth spending an extra bit of money to get a better outcome? What if you don&#8217;t have the extra money and need to use a cheaper product because you simply can&#8217;t afford the best-of-the-best? And how effective the devices used during that procedure have been in the past? These are the questions we need to start asking&#8230;don&#8217;t you agree? Healthcare, hospitals, and doctor&#8217;s offices are business just as much as a grocery or retail stores are. We, as consumers and customers, negotiate, use coupons and save money in any way that we can.  We do our best to read reviews and do our homework before we purchase something as simple as a sweater or some kind of electronic device, why don&#8217;t we do the same with healthcare practices and our bodies?!? It&#8217;s complete insanity!! We only get one shot at life; I want what&#8217;s best for my health, don&#8217;t you? Something to think about&#8230;isn&#8217;t it?]]></description>
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