Topic: Stevi's Saga

[mm]

good luck and let us know how you are doing.

[Stevi]

All the best, Stevi! I’m still dealing with after-affects of my surgery back in September. My case seems to be unusual, though. I’m sure you’ll have a much easier time than I have. I’ll be thinking of you on Monday!!

Sorry to hear that you have had a bit of a challenge with your recovery.

I appreciate your good thoughts for me.  I'll be reporting when I come out the other side.

Stevi

[Donica]

Hello again Stevi. It has been a long while indeed. Wow yes, much as happened. First, let me congratulate you on winning your case against the gym. And second, I assume you are now in recovery? Wow hun! Congratulations again. Yes the COVID mess has been just that here in my neck of the woods. Closure after closure and beginning to wonder if at all this year that I will get to be a complete woman. I'm glad to hear some of us are still moving forward.

Hugs!

[Stevi]

Time for a proper update.

Penny and I arrived well before my 11am appointment.  The surgery was set for 1 pm.  It got delayed because the OR with the robot was in use still with an operation that went long.  I got into the room about 2:30.  The room was full of people.  This is a teaching hospital so every principal had two or three shadows.

They had to use ultrasound to find my veins for the two IV  ports.  Gave me a spinal block.  Lights out a little past 3 pm. Awake in my new living quarters at 11 pm.  Six hour operation.

I was warned the spinal block would wear off before 24 hours. The pain never came.  A little discomfort is all right up to now. Tuesday, Wednesday went great.  Up walking the halls, feeling good.  But, Thursday was bad.  Chills and profuse sweating.  Upset stomach and nausea.  Light headed.  My surgeon had concerns about a clot in my cht.  An EKG and an X-Ray in my bed.  The EKG was fine. The X-Ray did not show a clot but it did show a layer of air between my right lung and my rib cage.  Pulmonary specialists added to the mix.  Back on O2.  Hoping to help my body absorb the gas.  Another X-Ray, but in radiology.  Had to stand up for two images and get in and out of the gurney for transport.  Doable but not fun.

Yesterday was better.  Second X-Ray read showed no change. Nothing to do but watch.  Left me on O2 and monitored blood saturation.  100%. Still had stomach problems.  Managing that.

Packing came out yesterday.  A little ahead of schedule.  First dilation this morning.  Dr Roth, Penny and I in the room.  Went well.  No pain.  Good depth. Penny teased me about the girth, though.  P1.

There are a couple of labia drains that need to come out and the catheter tomorrow morning.  If urination is OK, I expect to go home later in the day. 

Home for now is a condo in Indianapolis.  We are staying in town till the 8th of August.  I have a follow-up on the 7th.

Feeling really good now.  No where near the pain I thought I would have.  After the surgery anesthesia, just a couple of Tylenol every twelve hours.

Pleased as puunch,
Stevi

[Stevi]

I am home!  I am feeling good.  Tired. It has been a long day for both of us.  Awaken early.  Catheter out first thing.  Discharged and home at about 2:45. The hospital pharmacy was closed for Sunday.  We had to get the prescriptions filled on our own in an unfamiliar city.

Happy, tired, settling in,
Stevi

[Northern Star Girl]

@Stevie
Dear Stevie:

Wonderful GOOD NEWS report!!!!
I am so very happy and glad for you.

HUGS and HUGS,
Danielle

[ChrissyRyan]

I am home!  I am feeling good.  Tired. It has been a long day for both of us.  Awaken early.  Catheter out first thing.  Discharged and home at about 2:45. The hospital pharmacy was closed for Sunday.  We had to get the prescriptions filled on our own in an unfamiliar city.

Happy, tired, settling in,
Stevi

Welcome back home.   
Do have a wonderful week ahead. 

Chrissy

[Stevi]

Thank you, Danielle and Chrissy

[Donica]

Congratulations young LADY!

Hugs!

[Paige]

Amazing Stevi, glad it went well.

Regarding your peritoneal vaginoplasty surgery.  Do you still think this is the best option?  Did your age make getting this procedure difficult?  I'm 58 and I think it sounds like the best way to go, but it is still relatively new.

Thanks,
Paige

[Stevi]

Paige,

I have not a great deal of experience yet.  But I think there are a couple of pluses.   Though some of this will vary with individuals, I think some of it is inherent to the method.  I have full depth, already.   The cylinder they formed from the peritoneal tissue was pulled through and closed off way up there.  The peritoneal tissue was not entirely severed from my body.  They did not have to move any tissue from somewhere else (requiring it to establish a new blood supply) to give me that depth.  My penile tissue would not have done the task all by itself and given me much depth.

Pain from dilation is minimal.  Really none except I am testing moving up a size.  The stitches connecting the penile skin to the peritoneal tissue are still a little bit of a problem and will be, I suspect, until they have fully dissolved in a few more weeks.

So far, I am very happy with my choice.  It is not as new as you might think.  It is relatively new for us.  As I understand, the technique has been used previously for women lacking a vagina.  Not all that common but not unknown.

I just got back from an almost two mile walk.  Slow pace but no problem at all.

Tomorrow will be two weeks from my surgery and time to return to my little blue pills.

My biggest problem has been my body's thermoregulation system.  I tend to be cold-blooded on the best of days and the operation put me into a bit of shock, I think.   The one really bad day I did have was when my body's thermostat went through a reset.  Since then I have been fine.  That chilled to the bone feeling is gone.

So far, I have no reason to second guess my choice.  Ask me again in about thirty years when I am finished with it.   

Stevi

[Paige]

Thanks so much for the reply Stevi.  The more I read about this method the more I'm convinced this should be the standard method.  Hopefully surgeons practicing the old technique will soon realize this.

One day hopefully I'll follow your lead.
Thanks again,
Paige

[Stevi]

Paige,

You are welcome.

I am a very healthy 70 yo.  I have never had any abdominal problems or trauma so that made me a good candidate.  I was warned that, in the event they could not get the peritoneal tissue they needed, they would use part of my bowel for the vagina lining.  Once the procedure was begun, some tissue source was going to have to be used.  There may be other options in other girl's situations.

I am still recovering well. I still get up and down a bit gingerly but I am mostly back to normal with moving around and living life.  Load restrictions of 10 lbs are still place but I am driving.  No baths or swimming, yet.  I have not had to use any narcotics for pain.  Down to 1000mg Tylenol twice a day.,  Probably will reduce or discontinue that soon.  Much of the swelling is down.  Stitches are still there but not too awfully annoying.  Some sensation in the clitoris but I can't call it pleasure at this point.  Too early to push the envelope on that yet, anyway.  I was/am concerned on that front since I had lost most sensation from a severe case of phimosis some years back.

Stevi

[Paige]

Hi Stevi,

It sounds like your recovery is going very well.  I'm so glad for you.

Thanks for the details. It really helps.  Hopefully one day I'll go through the same process.

Paige

[Northern Star Girl]

@Stevi
Dear Stevi:
Where are you?  
It's been well over 2months since you have posted anywhere on the Forums...

As one of your followers I very much miss reading your updates.

I trust and hope that you are OK and staying healthy and safe.
HUGS,
Danielle

[Stevi]

For my dear Danielle way up there in the northern nether regions.

I am doing well.  Busy as all heck.  The good thing is that, apart from my daily appointments with a dilator, absolutely none of it is tangled up with gender identity issues for either me or my dear wife.

I am involved with my UU congregation.  Most especially with seeing that all the pieces for our Sunday Zoom services get gathered up from week to week and streamed out over Zoom and Facebook.  For anyone who might be interested you can look up the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of New Bern on FB and view the many services there beginning back in the spring.  I was very much involved behind the scenes in the majority of them.  I did the presentation for a very early one.  You are welcome to watch the live stream on Sunday mornings at 10:30 am.  We go live at 10:20 am and the 10 minute preservice period is worth a look, too.

There have been a lot of other goings on.  We get to the Y's pool in the early am for nearly an hour six mornings a week.  We bought and moved into a new home here in New Bern back in January.  Had a lot of cleaning and painting to do around our living in it. Still trying to filter through the stuff we move into it.  That is hard to keep working at but it is being slowly conquered.  There were interruptions along the way.

My bottom surgery and all the drama around getting it done.  You will have to look backward in the blog to get a better picture of that.  I don't have a lot to say now.  I will say this.  It is over.  I am pleased pink. The hospital and surgeons billed for over $100K.  The insurance paid about $25K.  My portion came at just north of $1600.

Along the way I had cataract surgery and the wife had a retina surgery with a 6 week downward facing recovery period.  That is all in the past.  They both went well.

I have been maintaining two homes since January.  Besides the lawn work I spent a few dollars and some elbow grease to spruce up the "country estate" out in Oriental for sale.  It is under contract now.  The closing was supposed to be this past 16th of October but the buyer's bank SNAFUs have the date moved out to November 12th.

One of the compromises my wife made when we bought this house was that she could/would live with the kitchen until the "county estate" sold.  Then we would remodel it.  In anticipation of getting our equity and capital gain in our greedy little hands, we have been planning that.  We did go ahead and buy a new propane stove to replace the electric range that came with the house.  It was a $2000 unit that had been dropped.  I got it for less than $1000 and with an afternoon of minor disassembly and some sheet metal work it is perfect.   After running a propane line that piece of the new kitchen is in service.

Well that should give you some idea what life has been like.  Crazy. Busy. Happy.  Useful.

I do drop by here once in a while to check on what is happening here.   Some of the friends that were active when I was so desperately in need of the help they gave me are still around.  So many are like me, I suppose.  They have overcome the overwhelming presence of the gender questions scurrying on the squeaky wheel in their heads.  Moved on to do what life is calling them to do.

There are some active posters from my bygone days, still.  I do thank you Danielle, and others like you, who are holding the torch high so our brothers and sisters can find their way through the darkness.

I started this thread in time of crisis in my transition.  Before that I lurked for a long time. I only occasionally posted.  Trying to work through the gloom and fog.  It has been a long journey for me and my wife.  Some steep and rocky terrain to be traveled.  But we have arrived.  I hope my story engenders hope in others.

I will drop by from time to check on some of you.  Till next time.  Peace.  Love.

Stevi