Dear Significant Other

Hi! It's Didi here.."Head Counselor" for "Didi's Sleep away Camp For The Terminally Vain". Your loved one is one of our upcoming "campers" and Dr. Lev and I just wanted to let you know that there are things that you can do to help your camper to prepare for their exciting adventure in Costa Rica.

First of all, be assured you do NOT have to put name tags on the inside of all your camper's underwear. She/he will not need a sleeping bag. There will not be a "Significant Other" visiting day. Hopefully, you will not need therapy to help you separate for the two weeks she is gone.

Don't worry, she will be back..perhaps she or he will appear slightly different than she or he did the last time you saw her or him, but doesn't everyone change in some way after a camp experience? Well, this camp is no different.

A very important thing you can do to help your camper prepare for this life altering journey, is to be as loving and supportive as possible. Once they make the decision to go, it is your job to encourage her and offer her whatever positive reinforcement you can muster up, despite your innermost feelings to the contrary.

This is a difficult task, indeed for most, but a necessary one because going through the process of plastic surgery, especially in another country, is a little scary and our campers need all the loving support they can get from all their loved ones.

Telling your camper that they don't "NEED" surgery or "YOU'RE CRAZY TO DO THIS" probably doesn't make them feel very good about their decision, which is a difficult decision to make to begin with. But, with people who do this thing, once they make up their mind that they want to do it, there is usually no turning back!

So, our best advice to you is to just go with their flow and be there for them as best you can throughout the entire process.

Now, just so you will be prepared, the first time you see your camper upon his or her return, you will most probably be one of the following: a. shocked, b. taken aback, c. surprised, d. flabbergasted, e. hysterical, f. confused, g. sick to your stomach, h. tentative, i. bewildered, wondering where your loved one is when she is standing right in front of you at the baggage claim waving her arms and yelling, "hi, Honey, it's me, the person you love!!, j. all of the above.

May we suggest that you spend your two weeks without your partner practicing a face that shows one of the following: a. excitement, b. longing, c. tears of happiness, d. pleasant surprise, e. love, f. recognition, g. all of the above.

Your camper will be swollen and possibly still sporting a few light bruises on her face or neck when she comes home to you. She will be feeling very self conscious about this and will need all the support and love and reassurance (that you won't run for the hills) that you can possibly muster.

Some Significant others who are naturally very good at this sort of thing have actually shown up at the airport to greet their camper in a limo with a dozen red roses and a bottle of champagne on ice. That was a really good welcome and that husband gets the SOY award.(Significant Other of the Year). Soy has always been highly recommended for menopausal women with hot flashes, but that's another story completely.

Anyway, you don't have to do what that particular spouse did to greet his camper at the airport. That was certainly over and above the call of duty (although over and above the call of duty is a good thing when your loved one is feeling like she looks like Jaba the Hut) and really, all you need to do is just smile, hug, kiss, look happy and continue to be supportive, just like you've been all along.

Some Significant Others who aren't as great at the "faking it" thing have been known to say things like, "Oh my God, are you EVER going to look like yourself EVER AGAIN?????????????" or "HELLOOOOOO ARE YOU IN THERE SOMEWHERE????"

This would not be the most supportive thing to say when you greet your camper at the airport upon her return.

Something like, " Oh, Honey, you look wonderful...I'm so happy to see you..are you feeling okay? I can't wait to hear all about your adventure in Costa Rica!"

Now, that would be a really good greeting!

You see, the healing process after a facelift is actually the most difficult part of the entire journey. Because everyone wants to look great immediately following surgery and nobody does. Everybody looks like they just had an unfortunate meeting with a Mack Truck. Some people stay very swollen and bruised for a month after surgery, even longer in some cases. Some people are okay to reassimilate into the world after just two weeks and with the help of some cover-up makeup and a scarf.

Everyone heals differently according to their age, their skin type and their general health. No two people heal exactly the same way. But EVERYBODY heals eventually..they make a full and complete recovery and it usually takes six months, give or take.

Dr. Lev and I always tell the patients to "keep your eyes on the prize" and sometimes that helps. But, in general, people are very impatient, including Significant others like you, and you should know that that's a very normal thing.

We wish you and your loved one a wonderful experience as you journey together through this amazing and wondrous adventure.

Pura Vida!