FFS countdown with before pictures and recovery with after pictures

[Jeneva]

Well I heard back from Dr. Z's office today and my tests were all good EXCEPT I had some blood in my urine. Dr. Z's nurse that told me about it said it wouldn't affect my clearance, but I have to take a set of antibiotics just in case it is a UTI. I just hope it isn't another round of kidney stones, but either way I'm all set for the 29th.

[JenJen2011]

1 week left.

[Jeneva]

Thanks JenJen.  Every day mine gets closer is another day for yours too.

I had to stop HRT this morning and I'm trying to not dwell on that.  But knowing it I can be one step closer to my real self in just a few days certainly helps.

I still haven't fully packed.  The dog attack kept me from doing it on Sunday, and I just haven't had time yet, but it isn't like I need to pack for a few more days.

My wife brought home the school iPad she was issued over the holiday break (lots of people have access to the building and unfortunately some aren't entirely trustworthy with something they can hide in their coat).  We experimented with FaceTime between ours and the school's so we can keep in touch with video even.  Of course I don't think I'm going to be using video for a few days and may not even be coherent enough to use it at all for the first few days.

I did get another big pre-surgery task completed today.  I stopped by the bank and got the cashier's checks for both Dr. Z and Lisa Lopez.

[JenJen2011]

Yeah, I'm not looking forward to stopping mines on the 31st. But yes, it will be worth it in the end.

I've heard only good things about Lisa. If I were going alone I'd definitely use her services but my mother will be helping me with my recovery.

[Jen61]

I will be praying for both of you, for good results and a quick recovery !

Jen61

[Jeneva]

I will be praying for both of you, for good results and a quick recovery !

Jen61

Thank you!

[Jeneva]

Yeah, I'm not looking forward to stopping mines on the 31st. But yes, it will be worth it in the end.

I've heard only good things about Lisa. If I were going alone I'd definitely use her services but my mother will be helping me with my recovery.

I saw a lot of positive comments about Lisa too and Dr. Z was very supportive of her. 

My wife was actually fairly concerned about getting the surgery now until she saw some of the comments about Lisa and saw her on the video.

We tried really hard to justify my wife going, but it just didn't work out.  She was going to have to take a few days off and the new superintendent for the school system doesn't want them to miss around holidays even if they have sick days.  And then there was our oldest son to deal with.  He has type 1 diabetes and the only people we could trust to watch him are totally useless when it comes to helping him dose enough insulin and stay around 70 grams per meal.  So we would have ended up with 3 extra plane tickets (for our daughter too) + another room so it was just too much.

Because of when my surgery is (just before the new year) I told Lisa I could be very flexible so she is covering until noon on the 31st and then will be back on the morning of the 2nd.  She said it would be ok to slide the dressing removal and shower until that early that morning.  I may have someone else for coverage, but we haven't nailed that down yet.

[Jeneva]

Well, it is REALLY REALLY close now.  So I'm grabbing a few of the more recent pictures that I'm willing to share openly so we can have a before and after.  At first I wasn't going to do this, but the pictures that others shared before this were so helpful to me so it's my responsibility to share now.  Although it is REALLY hard to post those Dr Z relaxed face back no makeup pictures.

I will always have these and more on this page FFS Summary on our farm website (www.dragonflydreamsfarm.com), *EDIT* We have decided to create a Family Happenings page and this is now link off of that page *EDIT*.  This is only for the T community and I ask that these pictures not be spread around without prior approval from me.

Today on the way to the town (Tractor Supply for chicken/waterfowl feed and then quick grocery).  Loading 350lbs of feed so I was wearing a sports bra instead of something flattering.



Halloween [extensions in so massively flat ironed hair]


Picture after second wave of extensions (pre-eyebrow shaping/no makeup) [extensions in so massively flat ironed hair]


2 FFS shots I sent to Dr. Z

[Jeneva]

Ok, I just got a call from Dr. Z's office telling me that my pre-op consult meeting may not be tomorrow after all.  I'm supposed to call after I catch the taxi to find out for sure.  I supposed he has an appointment sometime that afternoon and isn't sure when I will get in.  I don't know if that means my surgery may be delayed or if it just means I'll be awake a little longer on surgery morning without food.  I'm desperately trying to not panic.  I'm sure it is no big deal, but any changes this last minute are odd.

Maybe if I try to go and finish packing so I can stay calm. 

I've also got to run by my therapist's office and pick up a carry letter.  We've not bothered until now, but this is my first flight with my changed name and since TN won't let me change the gender marker until full GCS, I have a female name and a M marker so we thought it might be safest to have a letter from her attesting that I am in a gender reassignment process (and not a terrorist).  I have a printed copy from a scanned letter she signed, but she has the original's in her office mail box for me to pick up today.

In order to get there tomorrow early enough for the planned pre-op consult I was flying out at 7:10.  Since the airport is a bit of a drive, we are planning on getting up around 4am and then they will drive me there.  We don't expect I will be able to drive "safely" when I get back to that airport so we don't want to leave a vehicle in the long term parking. 

I'm not likely to be able to post again until tomorrow evening with an update about what the deal about the pre-op consult was.  After that it will probably be my wife that posts since I'll be too loopy.  She finally joined Susan's even though she has lurked on and off for three years.  Since she introduced herself I can now use Shannon instead of avoiding her name.  Shannon's login name is Dragonfly and she will likely be the only one that posts for the first three or so days.  I'm the normal website editor so I doubt she will update our website FFS page either.

If you couldn't tell from the rambling here I'm only a "little" bit hyper 

[JenJen2011]

I wish you the best!!!! You'll be in my thoughts.

[Tristan]

we all wish you the best. if you does not see you wed. he may just see you before surgery. every so ofter that happens

[Maja.V]

Wish you all the best, I hope it goes even better than planned! 

I'm very interested in the final look.

[Cindy]

Goodluck Jeneva

Hugs

Cindy

[Cara]

Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. I am seriously considering Dr Z for my FFS so I will be very interested reading about your journey.
When I was searching for Dr Z results throughout the web I discovered the following blog of a former Dr Z patient. The moment where the inner self became congruent with the outer self was so beautifully captured in this entry.http://victoriacantons.livejournal.com/107932.html
Cara

[Jeneva]

Just minutes before we were due to get up and start getting ready to drive to the airport, I got a call from Delta saying my flight had been moved until TOMORROW.  I'm on the phone with Expedia right now trying to get this resolved.  It may be good he wasn't going to do the consult today. 

Unfortunately they are trying to tell me that they can't get me there till tomorrow at all.  Even though I know there are a dozen flights out of TRI today INCLUDING a non-stop to O'Hare.  Not really happy with airlines right now.  As a last resort I can drive up in a rental car one-way, but it is an 11 hour drive for me so I REALLY don't want to go there.

[Jeneva]

Whew, they finally agreed to pay the extra and put me on a non-stop that gets there at 6:10p CST.  Delta kept wanting me to drive two hours to another airport or wait until tomorrow, but they finally caved.

BTW: this was not weather related, they simply consolidated flights to save money since they weren't full enough on any of the existing 4 flights.

I was a bit worried about my pre-op consult, but Dr. Z's office said he was just going to swing by the hotel when I got in so I guess its all still ok.

At least I get a silver lining out of this and get more time with my family since I don't have to leave the house until 3pm now instead of 5am.

[JenJen2011]

I can imagine how you felt with those last minute obstacles but I'm glad everything seems to be back in order for you. Keep us updated when you can.

[Jeneva]

I'm at the StayBridge now. Already got all my calls home and facebook updates done. I really should be in bed since I have to get up at 4am tomorrow, but I'm too excited. Dr. Z came by my room for the preop consult. He wasn't sure he was going to do a trachea shave since I have a fairly fat neck and it doesn't show right now. he did say that he was sure the saline implants would be fine based on the tissue I had now and I also asked about weight loss and he thought it should be OK and not look bad or expose them if I lost the weight I need to lose later.

I've been excited, but after he left it really hit me and I had a bad case of the shakes for a few minutes. It is almost here. Sure this isn't THE surgery, but it should help me be accepted so much more. Now I'm just jittery with excitement but I am afraid to take anything since sometimes I don't wake easily if I take the anxiety meds. I feel like I could make a dozen trips around the hotel and not even feel the cold.

[rosetyler]

I hope things go well for you tomorrow! 

[fleshpull]

Congrats ! I wish you the best of luck!