Its definite

Yesterday I finally spoke on the phone with Liz at the Nuffield, she is the person that ensures that your stay there for your surgery goes as smoothly as possible. I'd been trying to find out for definite what electrolysis I need prior to surgery because my electrologist doesn't want to do too little or too much than needed.
That's all cleared up now.

I then spoke with Debbie who is Mr Thomas' secretary and she said they were dealing with May's surgery dates now.

So its official, I go into hospital on the 11th May.
My GRS and chest reconstruction surgery will be on the 12th.
I'll be discharged on the 19th May and will then have about 3 months of recovery.

So how do I feel.
Its a bit scary because it is major, life-changing surgery. Its also incredibly exciting.

I've known that I would be having the surgery for a long time, it was clarified after spending some time with one particular person.

The same person asked me very recently if I thought I'd come this far this quick. I actually think that this is quite slow. A lot slower than I would have hoped to do if events hadn't slowed things down.

My son leaving school, father-in-law being ill and then the delays with surgery due to funding problems, all of these pushed my plans to wanting surgery last October and now into this year. Finally though I'm nearly at the end of this stage of my journey.

But I'm glad that its taken this long. I'm glad that I didn't have the surgery last year. I'm glad that its going to be in May. Partly because we have to go to watch the World Snooker championships in Sheffield with my son in April and so I needed to drive for that. More importantly because I've finally started back at burlesque classes. Yes, I'm doing the thing I love once more.

Last Monday I attended my first class at a place in Yeovil. It was amazing, we worked on a routine and I was surprised how quickly I caught on with the steps and moves. I've not danced like that for a long time. It felt like coming home.

What really made it so enjoyable was to be accepted as one of the girls, the conversation certainly didn't lead me to believe that anyone didn't think of me as anything but just one of the girls.

More importantly for me though was something that happened which saw me change a mental gear.

The studio has lots of mirrors and some windows. As we were rehearsing the steps I caught sight of myself in my jeans and sweater, and something clicked and I realised that I have a decent figure. Not as curvy as some women's but a figure that I think some women would be jealous of. I might be wrong but hey, its my mental gears and self-image that matter.
I even found myself thinking that with the right hairstyle and the right make-up I might even make a decent looking woman, maybe not attractive but certainly reasonable enough to turn a couple of heads.
Sorry if that sounds a bit conceited but there are very few days that everything that I see in the mirror comes together like that, so I'm going to take them when they come.

So, I have a couple of months of burlesque classes ahead of me, then my surgery and recuperation then its back to burlesque and the rest of my life.