Don't suppose anyone got the license plate number on that truck, eh? No? Oh well. At least that's how I feel right about now, along with wondering why I was chosen to test drive the world's largest tampon.
The day of the big surgery. I woke up and took a shower, then chatted a bit with my mom while she ate breakfast at the hotel. The plan was to check out of the hotel and stay at the clinic for up to 4 days until I could stand on my own, then back to the hotel. We got picked up at 8am sharp.
Shortly after arriving, I had to take care of the fun stuff, like blood work, urine sample, and a colon wash. That was fun. I'm not gonna lie, I like anal sex, so I'm no stranger to things being back there, but that was still a weird feeling. We then moved out things into the room we'll be staying for a couple days, my Mom and I. I got her set up on the wi-fi before they came in and told me it was time.
I met the anesthesiologist, who told me what he'd be hitting me with as he laid me down on the table. They put on the heart monitors, the blood pressure cuff, and the IV. They set my legs up on the other end. I had a good size team of nurses running around. I got numbed from the middle of my back on down, and then they partially knocked me out. Partially, apparently, though they put the blanket propped up in front of my face. I felt like I was in there for about 45 minutes, though I was in a bit of a haze most of that time. Turns out it was really 3 hours. All I heard was commands in Thai, so it was hard to focus on what was being said around me, as I don't speak any Thai.
When I ended up back in my room, they got me some more morphine. I felt at peace, though I wouldn't feel my legs for a couple more hours. Once I was cleared to lay up, I tried video chatting with Elizabeth - that failed miserably, as I was too doped up, and a sudden drop in blood pressure made me nearly faint. I had to let her go quickly, but I asked Mom to e-mail her later with what happened. I didn't want my baby to worry.
I had my dinner of roast duck and rice. Best hospital food EVER. As the night wore on, I ended up fighting with the painkillers and the catheter bag. Neither one lasted very long, but I kinda pieced together a night's sleep. I'm still propped up with "packing" right now, which feels like a lot of cloth stuffed in there to clean it up and hold it in place. Which is why I made the crack about the large tampon earlier. I think it's appropriate.
More info as it happens. Love you all!
Showing posts with label surgery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label surgery. Show all posts
04 January, 2011
03 January, 2011
On the big day
Greetings from Bangkok, Thailand! These past few days have been incredibly exciting. I'm growing rather fond of the place, even though the language eludes me.
Because of how soon I was to go in for surgery after arriving, and I had instructions to be on a liquid diet for 48 hours, I brought some Slim-Fast cans with me on the flight. Even though there was nothing against it on the TSA's website, it flagged me and I had to get a pat down. I asked for a private screen. They took forever to find a second female officer. This second one was a bit ignorant, grunt level S/O. She sauntered towards me and said, "That don't look like no female. You sure that's a female?" Granted, I had a flat sport bra on and no face makeup, so maybe that was why, but damn that seemed rude. Especially since she asked her superior in a not-so-subordinate tone - the first woman that initially told me I was flagged was a Lead Officer (L/O).
Before the second S/O arrived, I told the L/O that I was trans, and that if she examined my genitals in the new standard fashion she would find them, well, "out of the ordinary." She confirmed whether or not I wanted a male or female examiner - I told her female as that is my true comfort level. She had no issue with that. The actual pat down was not as bad as I was expecting, actually. Which was good, as I was a bit sore from hormone withdrawal by that point. Still am, actually.
Well, no more issues on that leg. Shanghai was fun -we had clear customs twice in order to transfer to another flight, even in the same terminal :P I guess that's how it goes over there. We made it to Bangkok late - 130am by local time. And, of course, the immigration window was short staffed. We cleared customs 2 hours later! But my ride was still there and waiting, which was wonderful. They took us to the hotel, and we checked in without any issues.
Today, we went to the Bangkok Plastic Surgery clinic, where we met the surgeon, Dr. Pichet Rodchareon and his staff. Wonderful people! I felt instantly comfortable inside. I signed all the papers, and the doctor explained everything, with photos, that he was going to do. I had seen all that before in my research; Mom, on the other hand, was not as thrilled about it :P But we got it all done. It's now 20:02 local time (about 05:02 Pacific US) on 3 January. In the morning, we'll be checking out of the hotel for a couple days, then getting shuttled to the clinic at 08:00. After a bit of prep, I'll be in surgery. Less than 24 hours now! Think I should say some kinda weird eulogy for "them?" :P I'll keep you guys posted with more details as they go.
Because of how soon I was to go in for surgery after arriving, and I had instructions to be on a liquid diet for 48 hours, I brought some Slim-Fast cans with me on the flight. Even though there was nothing against it on the TSA's website, it flagged me and I had to get a pat down. I asked for a private screen. They took forever to find a second female officer. This second one was a bit ignorant, grunt level S/O. She sauntered towards me and said, "That don't look like no female. You sure that's a female?" Granted, I had a flat sport bra on and no face makeup, so maybe that was why, but damn that seemed rude. Especially since she asked her superior in a not-so-subordinate tone - the first woman that initially told me I was flagged was a Lead Officer (L/O).
Before the second S/O arrived, I told the L/O that I was trans, and that if she examined my genitals in the new standard fashion she would find them, well, "out of the ordinary." She confirmed whether or not I wanted a male or female examiner - I told her female as that is my true comfort level. She had no issue with that. The actual pat down was not as bad as I was expecting, actually. Which was good, as I was a bit sore from hormone withdrawal by that point. Still am, actually.
Well, no more issues on that leg. Shanghai was fun -we had clear customs twice in order to transfer to another flight, even in the same terminal :P I guess that's how it goes over there. We made it to Bangkok late - 130am by local time. And, of course, the immigration window was short staffed. We cleared customs 2 hours later! But my ride was still there and waiting, which was wonderful. They took us to the hotel, and we checked in without any issues.
Today, we went to the Bangkok Plastic Surgery clinic, where we met the surgeon, Dr. Pichet Rodchareon and his staff. Wonderful people! I felt instantly comfortable inside. I signed all the papers, and the doctor explained everything, with photos, that he was going to do. I had seen all that before in my research; Mom, on the other hand, was not as thrilled about it :P But we got it all done. It's now 20:02 local time (about 05:02 Pacific US) on 3 January. In the morning, we'll be checking out of the hotel for a couple days, then getting shuttled to the clinic at 08:00. After a bit of prep, I'll be in surgery. Less than 24 hours now! Think I should say some kinda weird eulogy for "them?" :P I'll keep you guys posted with more details as they go.
28 December, 2010
On the option of surgery
Those around me are well aware that I have a small handful of days before I board an airplane to Thailand. While there, I am going to achieve what is, for me, a milestone in my transition: Gender Realignment Surgery.
Among the transgender/transexual community, surgery has many different thoughts and ideas. No one of these ideas is, nor should be, the be-all, end-all idea that rules over the entire spectrum that we call trans. Simply put, as I think I've touched on below, everyone has different ideas of what their transition will encompass. For most, the common thread is that their idea of gender differs from the rigid gender idea bestowed upon the person by their biological sex. Past that, I think that gender becomes so different that if we imposed a universal "this is what transfolk must and will do to be trans" rule, we will hurt far more than we will harm.
From here on, I will speak mostly in "male to female" terms, as that is what I know best. Some transwomen want to be able to change their names and identities permanently so as to be constantly known by their new gender. Some do not, and are completely satisfied with just being women part of the time. Some transwomen want estrogen and progesterone hormones to assist in their physical and emotional appearance. Some don't. Some transwomen want to enlarge their breasts surgically, either with or without help from hormones. Some don't. Some want to enhance their facial appearance by surgically minimizing masculine features in a procedure we call FFS (Facial Feminisation Surgery). Some do not want this. And, of course, some want to modify their genitals for hormonal and/or sexual needs. Many do not. This is all important to realize when we talk about what the transgender community wants or expects. It would be horrendous to say that certain ideas should be applied across the board to all trans identified persons. That would cause far more damage to individual identities than it would help.
Speaking ONLY for myself, here is what I want. I wanted hormones; I got them. I wanted to be fully seen as female, or what many of us call "full time." So I changed my name and identification. And I wanted to modify my genitals by completely realigning my penis into a functional neovagina, permanently removing my testes in the process. Now, in a week, I will have that. At this moment in time, though, I do NOT want FFS! And I'm on the fence about my breasts; I actually rather like them, but would like them to be a bit larger. However, since I haven't been on hormones for very long, they may still grow to my satisfaction, so I can't say that I want augmentation at this time.
But that is just my story. Your mileage may vary.
Among the transgender/transexual community, surgery has many different thoughts and ideas. No one of these ideas is, nor should be, the be-all, end-all idea that rules over the entire spectrum that we call trans. Simply put, as I think I've touched on below, everyone has different ideas of what their transition will encompass. For most, the common thread is that their idea of gender differs from the rigid gender idea bestowed upon the person by their biological sex. Past that, I think that gender becomes so different that if we imposed a universal "this is what transfolk must and will do to be trans" rule, we will hurt far more than we will harm.
From here on, I will speak mostly in "male to female" terms, as that is what I know best. Some transwomen want to be able to change their names and identities permanently so as to be constantly known by their new gender. Some do not, and are completely satisfied with just being women part of the time. Some transwomen want estrogen and progesterone hormones to assist in their physical and emotional appearance. Some don't. Some transwomen want to enlarge their breasts surgically, either with or without help from hormones. Some don't. Some want to enhance their facial appearance by surgically minimizing masculine features in a procedure we call FFS (Facial Feminisation Surgery). Some do not want this. And, of course, some want to modify their genitals for hormonal and/or sexual needs. Many do not. This is all important to realize when we talk about what the transgender community wants or expects. It would be horrendous to say that certain ideas should be applied across the board to all trans identified persons. That would cause far more damage to individual identities than it would help.
Speaking ONLY for myself, here is what I want. I wanted hormones; I got them. I wanted to be fully seen as female, or what many of us call "full time." So I changed my name and identification. And I wanted to modify my genitals by completely realigning my penis into a functional neovagina, permanently removing my testes in the process. Now, in a week, I will have that. At this moment in time, though, I do NOT want FFS! And I'm on the fence about my breasts; I actually rather like them, but would like them to be a bit larger. However, since I haven't been on hormones for very long, they may still grow to my satisfaction, so I can't say that I want augmentation at this time.
But that is just my story. Your mileage may vary.
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