Two Amazing Plastic Surgery Makeovers

Plus, a makeover that's a family affair. She's having cosmetic surgery and so is her son. They're doing it as a gift for his sister's prom. Adam Grub: The anticipation is like Christmas and New Year's and the 4th of July and my birthday all rolled into one. You won't believe the results of their amazing makeover. And later, the pretty cheerleader who's being given a unique gift. Her mom and her brother are getting a makeover in time for her high school prom. Lori Grub: We'd just like to be as pretty as Morgan. Keith Morrison: Wait 'til you see the makeover that's a family affair. Coming up . . . a mother and son hope cosmetic surgery will change their lives and help the one person in their family not in the market for a makeover. Keith Morrison: So all three of you feel sort of as if you're not in the . . . Morgan Grub: Yeah, oddballs. See what happens when a makeover changes the lives of an entire family. From our studios in New York, here again is Stone Philips. Stone Phillips: America loves a makeover. Millions watch them on TV wondering if a face lift or a nose job, maybe a tummy tuck, is something they should consider. Cosmetic surgery can certainly change your looks, but can it change your life? You are about to meet a mother and son who believed cosmetic surgery would not only improve their lives but also help the one member of the family who didn't want or need a makeover. A gift to themselves, a gift of themselves, that they were willing to risk major surgery and spend their life savings to give. Here's Keith Morrison. High School Prom. Dress, tuxedo, flowers, limo; a rite of passage. Simple enough, except for the people you're about to meet, for whom the prom of one prompts a life-changing decision for the others. A decision based at least in part on one embarrassed moment 30 years ago. Lori Grub: Robert Miller, 7th grade, Colonial Junior High School. I just thought he was a dream. Most every story that makes a difference in a person's life begins with a moment. For Lori Grub it was 7th grade band practice. Lori Grub: He said, "I've got a great nickname for you." I said, "What's that?" Now, just that he was talking to me was amazing. And he said, "SSU." Keith Morrison: SSU? Lori Grub: SSU. I said, "What does that mean?" He said, "Short, skinny and ugly." Keith Morrison: Ooh. Lori Grub: Mm-hmm. Remarkable how a thing like that can intrude on a person's life, and now Lori Grub, as she contemplates the drastic action she's about to take, still sees that boy and his thoughtless comments staring back from her mirror. Lori Grub: Devastating. It was devastating. Keith Morrison: Well, you've never forgotten it. Lori Grub: Never. Something to remember as you watch what happens. It's early spring in a sweet, small town in Arkansas named Heber Springs, where little girls still learn the old art of clogging. Leading the class is Lori's daughter, a pretty 18-year-old high school senior named Morgan who's looking forward to the biggest night of life so far. Prom night. That's two months from now but the thing that's different about Heber Springs and about Morgan is that this prom is going to be a family affair. On that night her family hopes it will pull out of a long, unattractive slump. Lori Grub: I'm liable to just be . . . Lord knows what'll happen. I could just take over the world. [laughs] I don't know. Joining Lori in this family plan will be her 23-year-old son, Adam. Adam Grub: The anticipation is like Christmas and New Year's and the 4th of July and my birthday all rolled into one. I mean, it's . . . I probably won't be able to sleep well the night before. Mother Lori, daughter Morgan, son Adam, about as close as three people could be. Adam Grub: We have to band together with what we've got and that's the three of us. It always just comes down to my two, the two loves of my life that I've got to always take care of, no matter what. Of course, Morgan has always been the pretty one, but appearances can be deceiving. As the cheerleading squad at Morgan's high school was piling up state and national championships, both she and her family struggled with a life that hasn't quite worked the way they hoped it would. Morgan Grub: Being a cheerleader, it would seem I was popular and all that stuff and superficial, but I'm not. [laughs] I'm as big a loser as everybody else. Keith Morrison: [laughs] So all three of you feel sort of as if you're not in the . . . Morgan Grub: Yeah, oddballs. And yet there was such promise once. Lori, back when she was 20-something, still fretted about that boy who called her ugly, but had grown into her face. Lori Grub: Makeup does wonders. Then the nose was an asset. Keith Morrison: In fact, that nose was a prize for a while. She was a runway model, a budding success. Lori Grub: I enjoyed wearing the clothes and being on a runway. I loved it. Even if she really did hate that nose. Then she was a wife and a mother of two and then things went somehow awry. Two divorces, too many moves, too little money. Too much nose. Lori Grub: The bane of my existence. It has been referred to as "the beak." The beak that ate the South. Now in Heber Springs, Lori's long hooked nose was joined by deep smoke-induced wrinkles and too much sun and terrible teeth. Lori Grub: Just eating a potato chip will cause a tooth to chip. Adam's were even worse. Keith Morrison: If you catch yourself thinking about it you make sure you smile with your mouth closed? Adam Grub: Yeah, unless I am, like, just totally downright determined not to grin. Yeah, usually I'll just kind of beam a little bit. Keith Morrison: You really do have your mother's profile, don't you? Adam Grub: Mm-hmm. Keith Morrison: Yeah. The two of you are cut from the same cloth. Adam Grub: Yep. Both had come to hate the way they looked. Keith Morrison: When you look at yourself now what's your self-critique? Lori Grub: I guess age. I'm guessing that's all it could be. Maybe no fluoride in the water. Lori found work in a veterinarian's office. She's 44 now. Adam works at a fast food restaurant. Lori Grub: A lot of times he would sit home instead of socializing. I think it has something to do with the 'old schnoz-ola'. By the time Morgan's graduation approached, she'd begun to wonder if her mother and brother would ever feel optimistic about things. Keith Morrison: And you've seen them become less happy with themselves? Morgan Grub: Yeah. Keith Morrison: They don't like the way they look? Morgan Grub: Mm-mm. Keith Morrison: What do you hope for her? Morgan Grub: Smile again. Really smile. Full out besides this little shy smile that she has. Keith Morrison: You miss that? Morgan Grub: Mm-hmm. And from that wish grew all else that you're about to see. Lori's boss, the veterinarian, suggests that she see a mutual friend who works as an image consultant an hour's drive away in Little Rock. Susan Clark: This gives the patient a visual. Susan Clark played with her computer and showed Lori that neither she nor Adam had to look the way they did anymore. They could actually, she said, be transformed. But could they really look like this, or is it just the fantasy? Keith Morrison: What did they do when they saw that picture? Susan Clark: They cried because they have lived with that so long, and to actually see a visual of that, it just . . . the tears just were flooding down her cheeks. Between the teeth and the surgical procedures, we're going to see a transformation in these people that will come from the inside out. And so they decided that for Morgan's prom night, Adam and Lori would put on far more than just fancy clothes. Lori Grub: It's just the three of us. We'd like to look our best. We want to make her proud of us. But remember, they're talking here about surgery not some fancy makeup job. How safe is it? Not as safe as some people like to think. Recent deaths after cosmetic surgery have reinforced that. In New York at a prestigious hospital two deaths in six weeks just this year, and in Florida alone, over the past seven years there have been 36 cosmetic surgery fatalities. Keith Morrison: Is this really safe enough to be able to treat it the way we do, like it's a cosmetic procedure? Adam's surgeon is Dr. Michael Devlin. Dr. Michael Devlin: I think if you do cosmetic surgery in the proper settings then it is proven to be quite effective and quite safe to do. Both surgeries will take place not in the office but in a separate licensed facility which they both feel is crucial. They say doctors should not be doing large or stacked procedures, as they call them, in their office. Certainly not for Adam and Lori who are about to get the full treatment. For Adam, nose reduction, chin enhancement, pinned backed ears. Dr. Michael Devlin: He seemed to have a little bit of a weak chin, so what we're planning on doing is reducing the size of his nose and also augmenting the size of his chin to bring his face into more of a balanced situation. And like Adam, a rhinoplasty or nose job. He'll also perform a mini-facelift to tighten the lower part of her face. A few days later, he'll inject a new face filler called Restylane and top it all off with a chemical peel, all to combat serious wrinkling. If all goes well, Lori and Adam will attend Morgan's high school prom eight weeks from now. Lori Grub: We'd just like to be as pretty as Morgan. It would be a major makeover but the price would be extreme, too. Adam's facial surgery will have a price tag of $7,815 and his dental surgery to correct a mouth full of problems would run close to a $10,000. Lori's dental work would cost a bit less, $9,500, but her facial surgery would be more, $8,634. Cosmetic surgery and new teeth for two, over $35,000. Keith Morrison: It is a lot of money. Lori Grub: Mm-hmm. Keith Morrison: So when you see the price tag, instead of saying "Oh, my God, that's terrible . . ." Lori Grub: That could buy us a Maserati or whatever, or we could get our heads fixed. We decided to get our heads fixed. It's definitely worth it. It'll take years to pay for it, one monthly payment at a time, but . . . Lori Grub: I could get my teeth which a medical problem in conjunction with the plastic surgery and get it all taken care of. And as they wait to see Dr. Jeff Garner, both are somewhere between anxious and excited. Now it begins. Woman: Adam, are you ready? Adam Grub: Uh-huh. First, before any plastic surgery, both Lori and Adam will have their crooked, damaged teeth repaired. Nurse: You feeling the gas okay? Dr. Jeff Garner: Today's your day, buddy. Gonna get started on the new you. Adam Grub: I've never had straight teeth, period. Dr. Jeff Garner prepares the teeth by sculpting and reshaping them and removing decay. Keith Morrison: How often do you see a mouth like Adam's? Dr. Jeff Garner: I have to be honest and say that this is one of the most extreme cases that I've ever seen. Then it's Lori's turn. Dr. Jeff Garner: Can you see me through those funny glasses? Lori Grub: Yes, sir, I can. Dr. Jeff Garner: You ready to get going? Lori Grub: Yes sir. Dr. Jeff Garner: Good deal. There's more at stake here than cosmetics. Lori's soft, decaying teeth have been compromising her immune system. Dr. Michael Devlin: Good morning, Adam. How are you doing? Adam Grub: Pretty good. Dr. Michael Devlin: You ready to get this done? Adam Grub: I guess so. The next morning at the Little Rock Surgery Center, the biggest step of their journey. Cosmetic surgery. Dr. Michael Devlin: Good. So right here we thought the bridge of your nose was just a little bit too big there and you wanted to take that down a little bit. Too late to turn back now, but will it all be worth it? And will they recover in time for Morgan's prom just eight weeks away. And once the operations are over, will Lori and Adam look the way they so fervently hoped? Certainly not at first. Lori Grub: I look like a monster. But you won't believe what you see when the bandages come off. [music] From our studios in New York, here again is Stone Phillips. Stone Phillips: Lori Grub and her son, Adam, are about to undergo major makeovers. They hope it will give them the confidence and happiness they feel they lack. Even Lori's cheerleader daughter, Morgan, says she has suffered from her family's poor self-image. Lori and Adam's goal is to make their debut at Morgan's high school prom. Will changing their looks change their lives? Once again, Keith Morrison. For hours, Lori and Adam Grub lay in adjoining operating rooms while their doctors re-sculpted their faces. Dr. Michael Devlin: No, no incisions on the outside of his nose, all from the inside. Adam's operation lasted three hours; Lori's, five. And then finally, bruised and bandaged, mother and son are wheeled out to recover and wait, to see if the result is anything like what they've been hoping for and if they'll be healed in time for Morgan's prom eight weeks later. Morgan Grub: You look so scary. [laughs] Lori Grub: Scary? Thanks a lot. Give me a kissey. Morgan Grub: No way. I'm not . . . [laughs] I'll touch your hand. That's it. And although she'd been warned about what would happen . . . Lori Grub: I feel like I've been in a barroom fight . . . that I lost. Recuperation, especially for Lori, is anything but easy. Lori Grub: I worried that I was never going to be the same, that I had made a drastic error in judgment. Keith Morrison: That you'd look awful for the rest of your life. Lori Grub: I'll look like a monster. Morgan tries to be a cheerleader. Morgan Grub: I feel sorry for them, seeing them all bruised and bloody. After the operation, Lori slips into a sharp depression, an effect, doctors tell her, of the anesthetic. Lori Grub: My face was real swollen. There were some really bad days, some pretty bad days. When she tries to eat . . . Lori Grub: I'd wake up even more swollen than before and thought "Well, I'm going backwards instead of forwards." Keith Morrison: Yeah, you felt like maybe you're one of those people for whom this did not work. Lori Grub: It's not going to get better. A few weeks into his recovery, Adam must return to the dentist who has decided to remove 14 damaged and crooked teeth before he installs a brand new permanent bridge and a new smile. Still, Adam's recovery is easier, smoother than his mother's. Adam Grub: I wasn't nearly as bad as Mom was. I just had three hours worth of blunt face trauma with surgical instruments, so yeah, it's going to be, it's going to be a freak show around here for a little while. But gradually the yellows and blues and reds in their faces disappeared. Now, exactly eight weeks after their surgery, it is the day before the debut they've promised at Morgan's prom. Here's the big moment. After all the surgery, after all the worry, we're about to see if it's all paid off. Both of them are trying on their outfits. Keith Morrison: Oh, my God! Man: Do you know this guy? Adam Grub: How are you doing? Keith Morrison: Look at that. Adam Grub: It's been a while. Keith Morrison: It has. It has. Keith Morrison: Oh, my Lord! Lori Grub: How are you? Keith Morrison: There's a permanent smile on your face now. The change for Lori is even more profound. Gone are the big nose, the bad teeth, the wrinkles. Keith Morrison: Wow.