On September 11, I had my Gender Affirmation Surgery (as I and many others prefer to call it). It was a 7 hour long surgery, followed by a 7 day stay in the hospital where I could not leave the bed. I’ve now been back in the hotel by the clinic for 3 days. They send nurses here to the hotel to keep track of our progress.
If there ever could be a pain free experience, this was very close. The most inconvenience I had was my butt on that bed for 7 days and not being able to move except to turn partially to one side or the other. That was bad but hardly anything to complain about considering this type of surgery. I have a seat cushion (donut) that is probably the most important item in my possession at the moment!
One of the most valuable parts of this experience is of all things breakfast. All the woman, pre and post operative usually come done at 9 am for breakfast. It’s a large family and ‘everything’ is discussed – which is extreme TMI (too much information) for anyone else. But for us it it invaluable.
The camaraderie, just being with others like oneself and learning of both our commonalities and our differences. This is very international, I know I now have life long friends in Germany, England, Australia, France, the US and many other locations around the world.
Hearing the experiences of those that are further along then us is invaluable as well. I have learned a lot and am able to be prepared for what comes next.
Hearing about and sharing issues and problems has also helped alleviate concerns. For example, I had a bruise appear a day after leaving the hospital, but it turns out many do and it’s just a normal result of the surgery we had. But without the other’s input I would have been much more concerned. This extends to other medical and ‘mechanical’ issues as well with lots of helpful advice.
I have created a private FaceBook page that I’m using as a sort of diary with input from others here. I’ll be distilling this information and creating additional posts here in hopes to help others.
With Aloha,
Sifan
Sifan's Journey 