Maleny had spent her entire adult life caring for everyone but herself.
One day, she decided it was time to make her own needs a priority. While she loved her body — the same body that had given her two beautiful children — it had also become a source of insecurity.
“I tried losing weight by going to the gym and staying consistent. I lost over 20 pounds, but you could still see the mommy pouch,” she tells PEOPLE. “I wasn’t happy with myself anymore. Some would say you can’t blame it on the kids — my oldest is 11, it’s been a decade — but the skin stretches and your body goes through a lot. I tried the ‘healthy’ way and it didn’t work. So I explored other options.”
For Maleny, 32, that option was a tummy tuck to remove the loose skin on her stomach. A quote for all the procedures she wanted in California came to about $22,000, while a Miami clinic estimated $33,000.
“I was like, absolutely not. That’s a down payment on a house,” she says.
That’s when she started considering medical tourism.
A friend who had gone to Tijuana, Mexico, for plastic surgery recommended the clinic she had used. Impressed by her friend’s results, Maleny booked a consultation with Bella Bodiez in October 2024, paid her deposit, and scheduled surgery for April.
The mom of two — her son is 11 and her daughter is 6 — brought her husband along for her first night in Mexico. He returned home afterward, leaving her to focus on recovery. She says the pain wasn’t unbearable, but the mental adjustment was the hardest part.
Her procedure list was extensive: “I got an extended tummy tuck, a Lipo 360 — lipo all over my back — arm lipo, inner thigh lipo, a fat transfer to the glutes [Brazilian butt lift], and the muscle repair that comes with the tummy tuck.”
The full cost for those procedures, including garments, vitamin IVs, lymphatic massages, other related treatments, and overnight stays (including her husband’s) came to $7,800. A week in a medical recovery facility added $1,000.
Maleny says the clinic customized the experience for her — even playing Bad Bunny in the operating room at her request. Recovery in Tijuana lasted a week, with only mild discomfort, mostly from sleeping positions and the muscle repair.
“Every time I would cough or sneeze — forget it. It was the most painful ever,” she recalls.
Now, more than three months post-op, Maleny is still slightly swollen but already thrilled with her transformation. Her support network — from her mom and sisters-in-law to her husband and online followers — has reinforced her belief that the surgery was the right choice for her.
“Everyone I spoke to who had plastic surgery said, ‘It’s the best thing you’ll ever do for yourself.’ That’s exactly how I feel. It literally changed my life. I can’t stop staring at myself in the mirror. It’s like I have a whole new body and a whole new sense of self.”
Since announcing her plans on TikTok, Maleny has found an unexpectedly positive and supportive community eager to ask questions and celebrate her decision.
“I thought I’d get negativity or backlash, but no — absolutely not,” she says. “If my story can help someone feel less judged and more understood, then why not? Especially if you’re a mom.”
While she acknowledges the risks of medical tourism, she was comfortable with her choice.
“Anything can happen anywhere,” she says.
