*Post updated September 2022
Why I Had My Breast Implants Removed - Part 5
The Doctor Who Spoke Death
Now begins the next God-you-had-better-do-this-and-FLEX moment.
I feared my pending visit to the plastic surgeon. I feared them not getting it, not supporting MY decision, and them trying to talk me out of something I knew God was calling me into. But I prayed up and all over myself, and I was ready to start having these hard conversations even if it meant they didn’t get it or me.
And let’s just say…I wasn’t wrong in my assumptions.
The first doctor I saw wrecked me. It was bad. Like really bad. She gawked at me like I was a freak show.
She even said, “You know…it is my job to add beauty, not to take it away. You look like someone who works very hard to care for her body. If you do this, you are going to regret it. It’s not going to look good at all.”
The sound of my heart shattering into a thousand pieces…once again.
Her lips kept moving, but I could no longer hear her. In my mind, I was running to the throne room of my King, pounding on the gates, shouting the name Jesus, and trusting heaven’s gates to swing wide at the mention of His name. I pleaded, “Jesus…come. Protect me. You promised you would go before me and protect me. This is scarring me. Everything she is saying is scaring me. Come – and protect me.”
Suddenly, I felt emboldened to ask her a simple question. Had she ever done anything like this before? Had she ever taken breast implants out of someone and left them out?
She stopped, rolled her little stool back, and slumped forward a bit as her eyes rolled back in her head, trying to recall a time.
After a drawn-out pause, she replied, “No. No, I have not. I have only taken them out to replace them.”
And there it was. The truth.
Encountered by Grace
She continued to evaluate me. Eyeballing me. Measuring this and measuring that. I kept praying and seeking the rescue of my sinking soul. And like a sudden gust of fresh, strong wind, He came.
She began to give me her final evaluation, telling me she didn’t think I should remove my implants at all, but in fact, they were simply too big for my frame. She tried to convince me that I would be much happier with a smaller size.
And then, suddenly, she took a big silent pause, seemingly a bit agitated with herself, and said, “Am I thrusting my opinion on you?” She took her right hand and tapped her right temple a few times as she said, “Because there is this voice in my head telling me that I am shoving my opinion down your throat. Am I doing that?”
Ahhh…Father. You are here!
“Ummm…yes. Yes, you are. But you have never done this before, nor has anyone asked this of you before, so I can understand your confusion. You don’t know where you have never been. And you’re not responsible for what you don’t know.”
Grace gave her a warm hug.
And with that, her countenance became one of greater humility and kindness. She said if that’s what I wanted to do, who was she to say no? She wrote a quote for me and walked quietly around her office, seemingly a little dazed and confused. She just encountered the Kingdom of God and was met with grace. It’s enough to confuse anyone.
Oh…and I forgot to mention that the doctor told me in closing that it is not true you have to get the implants removed every ten years or so. Only if there are issues or problems. Of which I was having none of. “Well, she can’t be right,” I thought.
The Manna Is Just For Today
Needless to say, she was not the doctor for me. I left her office that day a little banged up and worse for the wear. I called my mentor, Renee, and bawled. I told her how scared and confused I know was. I told Renee I desperately needed to remember that God has called and invited me to this. He still has my yes.
Renee said something that still sticks with me.
She said I did not have to remember what God had said but that He is a God who sends us fresh confirmation, each day, as needed. Each day He makes fresh bread. And the manna is just for today.
We prayed and asked the Lord to continue to confirm His word for me.
Before hanging up, Renee said she had been meaning to tell me to call a plastic surgeon she knew. His name is Travis Holcombe. She said he’s a kind man who loves Jesus and happens to be a plastic surgeon.
She gave me his number. I hung up with Renee and made my appointment with Dr. Holcombe.
Another four weeks would pass before I would see Dr. Holcombe. Each day felt like an eternity.
Alisa Keeton, Founder of Revelation Wellness is an author, speaker, and freedom bringer. Alisa’s life’s purpose is to make healthy disciples who make healthy disciples. She believes in the power of the Body Of Christ and its many unique parts making up one complete whole. Like any body, it grows best under tension. We are living in the best of times for tension. Let’s train!
5 Responses
You are driven, sweet sister. Sharing your story is healing for those of us who read it. Love u.
I love your raw honesty. I can say that in the same situation with the first doctor I would not have been so kind or patient. I think I would have “ripped her a new one”. That sounds harsh but when I’m backed in a corner with someone wanting me to do something that I don’t want to do, I come out swinging. Thank you for sharing a positive example of going to the Father first. I think I will remember this next time I’m in “the corner”. I’ve benefited so greatly from your series. Thank you for being so courageous!
Bump’s…. All over. ☝
Wow… Alisa I have always admired and loved and respected you but this just blew me away. Your response to this surgeon is so… I don’t have the words. Compassionate is the best I can come up with. But compassion for someone else while you are on your own terrifying journey… wow. Thank you for sharing, thank you for inspiring!