The clock struck one

This afternoon I had to finish work early, a bit unplanned due to a problem with our car. I'd arranged with my other half that she would bring the car to work at lunchtime so I could have it this evening to do a bit of shopping. Unfortunately when I went to start it, nothing. A few clicking noises but it wouldn't start.

I rang the breakdown people who sent someone out to have a look. It turned out that the car battery was kaput. The chap managed to jump start the car and suggested I take it to get a new battery, which is exactly what I did.

Unfortunately the shop that I got the replacement battery from didn't fit them so I found myself with an impromptu afternoon off in order to change the battery. Luckily the rain that had started just as we'd got the car going, stopped so I was able to do this little task while it was dry.

But I didn't mind. It could have been pouring down with rain and I'd have been happy.

Why?

When I got home I found a letter for me on the couch. One look at the envelope and I knew who it was from and what was inside it. On the envelope was the word Southmead. The place in Bristol where the Laurels sends us for our second opinions.

Carefully opening the I found a letter inviting me to an appointment with Dr Dan for my second opinion. Its still a while away, Ash Wednesday in fact. Not only will Lent be starting but I will be starting the next part of my journey to finally being physically myself.

Just waiting to go further around the clock.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Clock is Ticking

Before I get into this post if you are squeamish then you might want to look away in a bit. Don't worry I'll tell you when.

When I started this blog it was somewhere that I could use to work through what was happening in my life as I dealt with the issues around my gender and then in due course my transition. Recently things have reached a sort of normality about my posts. My day to day life is not the most interesting. However, the next year is going to change that. As a result there will be more posts that cover the medical aspects of transition. Eventually I hope that I'll be able to blog about my actual operation.
So with that in mind let's make a start.

When I last saw my doctor at the Laurels I asked to be referred for my second opinion. This week I received a copy of the letter that was sent to the apparently gorgeous Doctor Dan in Bristol.

There was quite a bit in the two pages of A4 but the gist of it was that I present as a female, I work and socialise as a female, have been living as a female for two years, have been on hormones over a year and basically meet the criteria required for surgery. I just needed it to be confirmed by a second doctor.

My breast development is at Tanner stage 4, basically I have the breasts of a 13 to 15 year old girl. Whoever she is, when she finds out I'm sure she'll be pretty mad. With like they might reach stage 5 which is effectively that of an adult woman. If that happens well and good but I suspect it will be a moot point if the plans to get chest reconstruction come off.

So as you can imagine I'm now waiting anxiously to receive the letter or phone call telling me when my appointment will be. Things are definitely moving and the clock is ticking down towards my surgery.

Now would be a good time to look away if you are squeamish as we are going to talk about pussy.

 


The letter also covered all of the surgical procedures that I will need. There are 5 of them, and as Wikipedia is a good source of information I've added links to the relevant pages on there.

Penectomy:
This is the most obvious surgical procedure and involves using the penis to form a vagina and clitoris. There are various techniques. I'm certainly not going to be having the technique developed by Dr Suporn as I'll be having the operation done in the UK by Dr Thomas.  From what I've heard from a number of people Dr Thomas' work is very good and they've had no complaints.

Bilateral orchidectomy:
This is the removal of both testes.

Vulvoplasty:
I actually couldn't find any real information on this. Labiaplasty came up when I searched online. I'm assuming that this procedure will give me the appearance of a female vulva and that labiaplasty and clitoridoplasty are all part and parcel of the procedure.

Clitoridoplasty:
This is the surgical creation of a clitoris in transsexual and transgender women.

Vaginoplasty:
This is the procedure that give transsexual and transgender women the vaginal canal. Its this that we have the pleasure of having to dilate for the rest of our lives. From friends experiences initially 3 times daily for the first two months then reducing to twice daily for a period of time, which is where you start to get your life back, then once a day and then less frequently.