Brighton part 2 - Nuffield

This is the continuation of my trip to Brighton.



Leaving Mere I headed for Brighton following my trusty SatNav. Oh if only I'd realised where it was going to take me. After driving for an hour it became apparent that I was heading to London and not towards the South Coast and a drive that way. Too late to change my route I eventually found myself driving around the M25. Thankfully it wasn't busy at that time of the day and so I managed to make good time.
A quick stop to grab something to eat and then the last half hour to Woodingdean where the Nuffield Hospital is located.

On arrival I gave my details to a lovely receptionist and was then directed to a waiting room. After about a half hour wait a nurse called out my name and I followed her to my first appointment with Mr Yelland.
It turned out I'd actually seen him when I was in reception. He was absolutely lovely and I took to him immediately. This is the man that will be rebuilding my chest and giving me an evenly matched set of breasts. After taking some details I stepped behind a screen and removed my top clothing so that he could examine me and also take some measurements. It was an interesting experience having a man place his hands on my breast and squeeze it.

After the examination Mr Yelland and I discussed what would be possible and he showed me the types of breast implants that he'd be using. One of them will be fairly flat because it will go where I already have some breast development. The other is more dome shaped as its got to correct where I don't. The operation is going to be interesting for him as he has the challenge of trying to match up both sides of my chest and make it look as natural as possible. If everything goes to plan then I may end up as a C cup.
Before my operation I've got to do some shopping. For the first four weeks or so I need to wear a sports bra 24/7, apart from when having a bath of course. 
Implants don't last forever so I'm going to have to start saving up for when I need to have them replaced in 10 years or so.

With my first appointment out of the way I had enough time to pop up to the ward and visit someone who I'd been told was in there. We'd never actually met but have commented on posts online before. It was so nice meeting her and putting a face to the name. She was lovely to chat to.

As the time for my next appointment began to draw near I returned to reception and shortly met T, who was the nurse that would be helping us to fill out paperwork, explaining what would be happening and showing us around the hospital and ward. I was also introduced to two other women that were there at the same time, one of whom was also from Somerset which was a pleasant surprise. Especially as we knew each other from online activities.

With the paperwork and tour out of the way we had individual meetings with T before settling down to wait to see Mr Thomas, the surgeon who will be performing the surgery to create my new genitals. While waiting I wandered around outside enjoying the view, one that I'm going to have to get used to when I finally have my surgery.
 

The cow sculpture outside the Nuffield

A small sculpture of an electricity pylon

Blue skies and sea

The English Channel in the distance

It truly is a lovely place to stay

Don't think I'll be sitting like this is January

Eventually Mr Thomas arrived and I finally got to meet the man that holds my future in his hands.
We discussed my health before he examined me and informed me that there was enough material to allow him to perform a penile inversion and get a reasonable amount of depth. All I need to do now is to complete my electrolysis and we'll be all set to go.
Mr Thomas mentioned that there was an issue with funding for operations at the moment but that this was being sorted out. He and his staff are currently booking operations for December/January time. If I do get a phone call offering me a date I'll be looking at the end of January. Highly appropriate as it will be 3 years at that point since I started my RLE.

With my appointment out of the way I was finally able to head for home, but not without incident.

Rather than drive up to London and back to Somerset from there, which would have been the sensible thing to do I decided to head across country and go through Petersfield where my father-in-law lived. The route from there to home is one I'm very familiar with.
Just after heading into the wilds of Hampshire my concentration slipped and I hit the kerb at the side of the road so heavily that the car radio and wiper blades came on. Finding a place to stop I took a look at the tyres and found that the front passenger one had a nasty bulge in it. Not wanting to have to stop and change it because it blew the rest of the journey was driven very cautiously. Eventually I managed to get home, having made one stop to pick up a doner kebab at one of the look kebab shops. I can't remember the last time I did that and it tasted delicious.

I had a lovely time in Brighton, everyone that I met was really pleasant so I'm looking forward to going there for my surgery. I've got two people lined up to bring me back as I wont be able to drive myself and my wife wont pick me up, its a long drive for her to do, further than she's ever driven so I'm happy for her not to do that.
The only downside is the funding issue. I'd heard from some of the ladies that had been there the week before that the NHS had stopped funding any more operations until April next year. There is a lot of stressed people as a result, something that isn't good given the high percentage of suicides in our community. A number of people are talking to the NHS at the moment so hopefully things will be sorted out soon. It wont help anyone to delay operations as there will still be a backlog to catch up with.
It will be interesting to see how things develop because the girls the previous week hadn't been told about them booking operations. It seems that there is a lot of confusion and mixed messages out there.
If there is a cap on operations then I'll just have to live with it. I've come this far and I can manage to wait a bit longer if needs be. It will be worth it in the end.