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Susanne began her health and wellness transformation when she was 68, dedicating herself to a healthier way of living after sticking to a “sedentary lifestyle”
Noticing parts of her body that she still wanted to tweak after losing weight, Susanne decided to undergo eight plastic surgeries at the age of 70
In an exclusive interview, she reveals why she went as far as she did with a facelift, fat transfer and more with her first time under the knife
In 2022, Susanne embarked on what she calls a “spiritual journey” that had also coincided with a physical transformation.
At age 68, the real estate broker and mom decided to take back the reins of her life, sticking to a plant-based diet and working with a personal trainer who helped her lose over 100 lbs. “It was almost 30 years that I had not taken care of my body,” she tells PEOPLE, adding that she “probably was in a really deep depression” while leading a “sedentary lifestyle for a number of decades.” She adds: “I really wanted to say thank you and celebrate my body for not giving up on me.”
Finding herself at a better place in her life, Susanne still felt like there were improvements to be made. She stumbled across the work of Beverly Hills, Calif.,-based plastic surgeon and Artisa Skincare founder Dr. Carl Truesdale, who’s gone social media viral for his life-changing alterations, and thought to herself, “There’s got to be something to this.”
Dr. Carl Truesdale
Susanne before and after her life-changing cosmetic enhancment
Ironically, Susanne says she “never really gave a thought at all” to plastic surgery, because looking good was never a “motivating factor” behind her weight loss. But something clicked and suddenly she found herself just “going for it.”
On July 3, Susanne reached out to Dr. Truesdale’s team and was looking at about a month-long timeline to lock in for her surgery. “I’m thinking, ‘Oh, how is this all going to happen?’ But I said, ‘Yes.’ I put it out in the universe because once you speak your word, it’s not any of my business how it unfolds…I just kept moving forward.”
Fate was written all over Susanne’s surgery. She reveals that she prepared herself to work with a different doctor after Dr. Truesdale was scheduled to go on vacation on her planned surgery date. However, a glitch in his itinerary ended up connecting the two anyway.
Dr. Carl Truesdale
Susanne before and after her surgery performed by Dr. Carl Truesdale
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Susanne, who had then turned 70, decided to get eight procedures in one sitting: a deep plane facelift, neck lift, upper blepharoplasty, lower blepharoplasty, fat transfer from her inner thighs to her hands and face, an eyebrow lift, lip lift and a laser treatment to rejuvenate the skin. She recalls the entire operation happening over eight hours, while she accelerated her recovery by doing a 90-minute oxygen therapy treatment for three days after.
Dr. Truesdale was given a reference photo of Susanne at 28 that she felt “really captured who I was at that time.” And while the transformation, in Dr. Truesdale’s words, turned back the clock and made his client look 40 again, Susanne says, “Was I trying to get back there? It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I have to be that age again.’ I really love who I am.”
Still, she’s noticed a “huge difference” and feels like her inner and outer glow are aligned. “I’ve always been very confident, but I love what I see now. I’m back in my size 4 and 6 clothes, and I got my own little swag. I think this only enhanced what I already was doing.”
Susanne didn’t disclose how much she had paid for surgery in her interview, however Dr. Truesdale’s practice charges $115,000 to $125,000 for the same procedures, as shared in a statement with PEOPLE.
For now, Susanne doesn’t see herself adding any more tweaks to her appearance. “I had asked [Dr. Truesdale] about that and he said, ‘I think we’re done.’ That’s really encouraging to know,” she says. “I do have some loose skin from the almost 130 lbs. that I released, and I told [my trainer], ‘Let’s just see what happens between now and the end of this year, then I’ll decide next year if I want to have anything removed or not.'”
She is, however, set on inspiring others with her story. “If I can be that catalyst for someone to say, ‘I want to do this for me, I want to love myself more,’ then I’ve accomplished what I was looking to do.”
Read the original article on People