Gender Affirming Surgery Plan

Yes, this is going to maybe be a bit TMI for some readers. You are forewarned.

Today, I had a surgery consult for an orchiectomy. I like the surgeon. Once I have my required mental health letters¹ I will be starting the scheduling and insurance pre-approval process. My therapist is on vacation this week. We’ve already discussed my intention, so I imagine the letters are pretty much a foregone conclusion. Then it’s a matter of scheduling the pre-op appointments, and scheduling the actual surgery.

I told my (cis female) cousin a few minutes ago of my plan. She had a few questions, but they were of the nature of “How long for recovery?” and “Will this make you feel whole and happy?”. She has been a great supporter throughout the time since I came out. I hadn’t said anything to her about the surgery thought process before today. I wanted to have the consult first.

Ultimately? Her response was: “That makes my heart happy”. I’m crying tears of joy. I’m so excited, and I just can’t wait until I can begin the next steps. Once the surgery is done, I will move forward with legal name and gender change.

The journey continues, and today, it’s joyous. This is a really big step forward, and one I really didn’t believe I’d ever be able to take.

1. These letters are only ever required for trans people who want to have some form of gender-affirming surgery. Cis women can have a hysterectomy, or breast augmentation, and no one needs to see “proof of mental competence” before they have their surgery. It’s gate-keeping, pure and simple. I understand that it’s the insurance companies that push this. They want to avoid paying for everything they possibly can. But it’s also tied up in the whole “They must be insane if they think that they are women” BS that’s always surrounded women like me. ↩︎

Tags: Gender Affirming Surgery, trans, Trans Joy, Transgender