Transgender journey: recovering from surgery
After sex reassignment surgery, Juliet Jacques recuperates at home with her parents. An infection delays her recovery, but eventually pain begins to give way to pleasure
Juliet Jacques
guardian.co.uk, Monday 8 October 2012 08.18 EDT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/oct/08/transgender-journey-recovering-from-surgeryWhen I got the date for my sex reassignment surgery, I wasn't so worried about the operation itself (I'd be asleep, right?) as its aftermath: how I was going to look after myself during the two months it would take to recover? I called my parents and immediately my mother offered to take care of me at the family home. I'd never felt so glad or relieved: the Gender Identity Clinic suggest full-time care for at least the first two weeks, and getting it from my parents (especially my mother, a former district nurse) meant that they would be reassured that I was fine, while I would benefit from rest, relaxation and plenty of home cooking.
The day after my discharge from Charing Cross Hospital, my father drives me back to Horley, Surrey, where I will convalesce in my old bedroom. As he does so, the post-surgical pain increases dramatically. I try to be stoic: it isn't going away for some time, so I decide to get through the journey, sleep and see how I feel in the morning. Much worse, is the answer: the sight and smell of the neovagina instantly confirms that I've contracted an infection.
