An American nurse who shed an incredible six stone over three years was shocked to find her dramatic weight loss came with an unexpected and devastating side-effect: a complete loss of her confidence.
The Transformation That Stole Her Confidence
LeAnn Hawks, a 45-year-old from Arizona, successfully lost weight using the drug Mounjaro. However, as the weight dropped off, the skin on her face and neck began to sag severely. She described developing what she called a 'turkey neck', which left the once outgoing and bubbly nurse feeling self-conscious and withdrawn.
Compounding the issue, LeAnn entered perimenopause around the same time. She confessed to The Daily Mail: 'I was really outgoing, go-all-the-time kind of girl, and I just didn't even want to go out anymore. I just hated the way I looked. It was really affecting my self-esteem.'
A Leap of Faith in Tijuana
Her solution appeared during an evening scroll on TikTok, where she discovered a woman who had undergone a remarkable facelift transformation by Dr Espino in Tijuana, Mexico. After extensive research, LeAnn decided to take a 'leap of faith'.
In July of this year, she underwent a comprehensive set of procedures costing $15,500 (approximately £11,800). This included a deep plane neck and facelift, an upper and lower blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery), a brow lift, and a fat transfer to her face and lips.
The cost covered the surgery, an overnight hospital stay, and ten days in a Mexican hotel where she was monitored by nurses.
The Shocking Reality of Recovery
The journey was far from easy. When her bandages were first removed, LeAnn was horrified. Looking in the mirror, she said it was 'the most horrific thing I have ever seen,' describing the moment as 'truly shocking'.
Her husband, Tony Hawks, 51, said she looked like she had been in a 'bar brawl', admitting he hadn't expected her recovery to appear so drastic.
LeAnn recalled: 'I was in a lot of pain for the first few days, I'm not going to lie, but the mental part was the hardest. I cried a lot, I was very emotional for the first week. It was emotional for sure because I was like 'what have I done'.'
The recovery presented physical challenges too, including significant swelling and a wound on her chin that opened up ten days post-surgery. Being a nurse, LeAnn was able to dress the wounds herself, and they eventually healed well.
Documenting the Journey and Reclaiming Confidence
It was this difficult and 'really scary' first week that prompted LeAnn to document her facelift journey on her TikTok account, @leannhawks. One video, showing her just a day after surgery, went viral, amassing over 18 million views.
She wanted to provide a real, unfiltered look at the healing process, moving beyond the typical glossy before-and-after reveals.
Now, three months after the surgery, LeAnn's life has been transformed. The swelling has subsided, and her confidence has skyrocketed. She feels 'red carpet ready' and is excited to socialise again.
'I do feel more confident,' she said. 'Now, I'm trying to look better, and do my makeup a little more, fix my hair a little more, it's helped a lot.'
Despite facing criticism for having a cosmetic surgery at a relatively young age, with some questioning why she doesn't 'age gracefully', LeAnn stands by her decision.
Her message is clear: 'Life is short. If I want a facelift or my neck to be snatched, I'm going to do it... that's what I wanted to do, so I did it.'
