GCS and BA with Dr. Ley on 21 Feb 2019 - Jessica_Rose

[Jessica_Rose]

Thanks for the note @RealLacy ! I noticed the forecast in Scottsdale is a bit cooler than I had hoped, I was only planning to take long skirts, button-up tops, a light jacket and sandals. I probably won't be outside too much, so I think I will be OK.

@jill610 , thank you for all of the great tips! The paperwork can be time consuming, but the Meltzer Clinic was very responsive and it went fairly quickly. I can work from home pretty much any time I want -- if I am not feeling well, expecting a delivery, or even bad weather. I just need to send a note to my manager so he knows where I am. One of the other things my company offers is a 'height-adjustable table' (HAT), basically it is a desk surface you can use sitting or standing. My request for a HAT was approved a few days ago, and since it is for a medical condition I went to the head of the line, it should be installed before I return to work.

I was sorry to read about your perineal tear, that had to be painful, scary, and unpleasant. It seems to be somewhat common. I plan to eat much more fiber than usual to help reduce the possibility, but I know it can happen no matter what precautions I may take. Great idea about the soap, I'll make sure we pick more up before we leave.

As far as things to do at home, I do a lot of photography. I have several thousand photos that I have never looked at because I was too busy with other things, but I expect that will get boring after a while. I'll try to think of something else before my wife gives me something to do!

I use one of those weekly 'pill minder' boxes, with one compartment for each day. After I took my last pill yesterday I stared at that empty compartment and realized how significant it was -- next Thursday, do I leave that one empty? With so much going on I have not had much time to think about it, knocking six weeks off of my wait time put me in overdrive for a while. Within the next day or two I expect it will hit me -- the enormity of the change, how long I have waited for that day to come, and what it will feel like when I wake up? I expect it will be one of the most emotional days of my life.

[Emma1017]

Dear Jessica Rose:

My heart, hopes and thoughts are with you!

You got this.

Massive hugs,

Emma

[Jessica_Rose]

Thanks @Emma1017 !

I just received a call from one of my co-workers in Cleveland. He was wishing me well and asked that I try to keep them updated on my progress. This guy never mentions anything about my transition or asks any questions about it, even though I told him it was OK, but he has supported me from day one. He treats me as though nothing has changed except my name and gender, which is exactly how I should be treated. He reminds me quite a bit of my oldest brother, Gene.

[Jessica]

Oh my!  I missed this thread this whole time!

You will do great Jessica.
Good luck, it's less than a week away 🌸🌸🌸

Oh and this does deserve a SQUEEEEEEEEE!

Hugs and smiles from another Jessica 💕💕💕

[Anne Blake]

Safe travels girl and enjoy the ride!

Tia Anne & Deb

[Dena]

Sorry about the weather as it has been cooler and a bit wetter than normal. The good news is the low shouldn't fall much below freezing and the high could be near 70 degrees.

You probably won't want to leave the hospital until you're at least 4 days  post surgical and you can only sign out for 3 hours at a time. The hospital is in the tourist part of Scottsdale so there are many interesting stores within walking distance which is a good thing because parking can be a bit of a problem.

The hospital food is good and you have several options you can select off the menu. If you want a snack, they have them at the nursing station. The service is great and should you have any needs, talk to the staff about it. It's probably one of the best hospitals I have seen. If you need something you can't get, let me know.

[Kendra]

Next week is almost here!!  I am sooo happy for you and excited.  Wish I could be there at the same time. 

At two weeks post-op I made a list of what I thought was good to bring to Scottsdale, and things I didn't need.  https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,230213.200.html

You go girl!

[jill610]

Oh the Sit/Stand desks are wonderful - our new building has them for every employee and I was able to get them for my group. Mine is stand 100% of the time ... until I had this surgery. Now it's down for an hour or two in the afternoon.

I never thought of using the time to go through photos! That's such a great idea! I have terabytes laying around in a folder on my drobo called "to go through someday". Lol.

Scottsdale was a bit chilly when I was out there but just a fleece was usually fine. What was funny is when I was out there I had this huge urge to... go to the movies. Lol.

[Jessica_Rose]

Thanks @Dena ! It is awesome having friends you have never met, in a place you have never visited.

@Kendra , I appreciate the link to that entry. I tend to overpack, and knowing what to concentrate on will be a big help.

@jill610 , thanks for chiming in. It is nice hearing from someone who was there so recently.

This morning was somewhat poignant. Susan and I used the last of the Viagra, and I realized it was the last time I would ever be intimate with her using my original equipment. I will be glad to be rid of those bits, but I also realize I am taking something important away from Susan. She says it is OK, but I know she will miss it. We often pay a high price to transition, but we also personally benefit greatly from it. Our spouses and significant others also pay a price, and their only reward is our happiness.

Susan and I are loading the car right now, we plan to leave by 8:00am for the 6.5hr drive to Socorro to visit one of our daughters. We will stay overnight and take the southern route (about 7 hours) to Scottsdale on Monday. My pre-op isn't until Wednesday, but I would rather avoid the winter storm and get there early than take a chance at arriving late! I still can't believe this is happening. Just five more days...

[Mariah]

You will enjoy the visit here. It might a bit cool even compared to what we are used to this time of year. I didn't live here when I had my surgery with Meltzer, but for the most part it was nice when I was here for it. Food is good as Dena mentioned, however there are some amazing food places very close to the hospital. Once you have been there a few days your allowed to go out for a few hours at a time, if you like. You just have to phone them if your going to be late so they know what is going on. Hugs
Mariah

Thanks @Dena ! It is awesome having friends you have never met, in a place you have never visited.

@Kendra , I appreciate the link to that entry. I tend to overpack, and knowing what to concentrate on will be a big help.

@jill610 , thanks for chiming in. It is nice hearing from someone who was there so recently.

This morning was somewhat poignant. Susan and I used the last of the Viagra, and I realized it was the last time I would ever be intimate with her using my original equipment. I will be glad to be rid of those bits, but I also realize I am taking something important away from Susan. She says it is OK, but I know she will miss it. We often pay a high price to transition, but we personally benefit greatly from it. Our spouses and significant others also pay a price, and their only reward is our happiness.

Susan and I are loading the car right now, we plan to leave by 8:00am for the 6.5hr drive to Socorro to visit one of our daughters. We will stay overnight and take the southern route (about 7 hours) to Scottsdale on Monday. My pre-op isn't until Wednesday, but I would rather avoid the winter storm and get there early than take a chance at arriving late! I still can't believe this is happening. Just five more days...

[Anne Blake]

Hi Jessica,

It is exciting to see you getting so close to one of your goals, good on you girl. It was just under a year and a half ago that Deb and I began our drive down to Scottsdale. Our route was different but the excitement was just as high. Give Dr. Ley our best wishes.

If you are looking for good breakfast places we enjoyed the Breakfast Club and the Daily Dose. The Daily Dose has some good spicy things and the Breakfast Club was just plain enjoyable. And once you get some strength back in your legs and can walk an eight of a mile, the Rehab Burger Therapy across the street from the Greenbaum surgery center is worth the stroll.

Enjoy this part of the ride girl and we look forward to seeing you when you get back to Colorado.

Tia Anne & Debi

[Jessica_Rose]

Our drive to Socorro was rather uneventful. We left Colorado a day early to avoid an approaching winter storm, so I thought it was ironic that we ran through some snow showers in Albuquerque! Our daughter, Kimberly, picked us up at the hotel and took us to 'Yo Mama's Grill' for supper. Susan had a patty melt and I ordered a BBQ hamburger with bacon. Since I will soon be going without food for a few days I figured it would be OK. Kimberly showed us the cartilage piercing she got the day before and mentioned that it was not as painful as she had expected. We talked for a while, but not as long as we wanted -- she had to get back home to finish a lab report.

Although the hotel room was quiet, neither of us slept very well. We went to bed around 8:00pm and woke up around 2:30am. We decided to just eat a few of the blueberry muffins we brought and got on the road at 4:00am. Not long after we hit the road we picked up some windshield damage courtesy of a quarter-sized rock, but nothing like the flying lawnmower Tia and Debi reported! We ran through some moderate rain between Tuscon and Phoenix, but nothing heavy enough to make us slow down.

Since we arrived before our check-in time I looked up a local SafeLite repair shop, and they took care of the windshield damage right away. We are actually staying in Glendale tonight, but we will move over to our Scottsdale hotel tomorrow. It seems Spring Training has begun, and hotels near Scottsdale are more than double their normal price, staying just one night in Glendale saves us over $150!

We have been trying to avoid crowds for the last few weeks, and I even bought some gloves to use while pumping gas. I am doing my best to avoid catching a cold or the flu prior to surgery. I am still paranoid that something is going to delay this. My pre-op is Wednesday at 8:30am, and my surgery is scheduled for Thursday at 7:30am.

Snow squall south of Albuqerque

[Jessica_Rose]

Susan and I had blueberry muffins again for breakfast, then we did a little shopping. For lunch we had a McAlister's club sandwich. I stayed in the car for the most part, still trying to avoid catching something so close to my surgery date.

After lunch we moved to our hotel near the surgery center. I asked the clerk if they had discounted rates for Meltzer Clinic patients, and my rates magically dropped about $100 per night! After checking in we walked over to the AZ/88 restaurant to meet a co-worker. Keith and I have worked together quite often, but we had only met once about five years ago. Keith is one of the rare men who hugged me without hesitation. We talked and laughed for nearly two hours, then he had to leave to meet someone down in Tempe.

After getting back to our hotel, Susan and I finished unloading our car and got the room set up. Next we wandered over to Olive Garden for my 'last supper' -- lasagna! No more food after midnight tonight.

My pre-op is at 8:30am Wednesday, after which I will pick up my prescriptions. My prep starts at 1:00pm, when I start drinking lots of fluids. Around 5:30pm I start the bowel prep process. This isn't something I would normally look forward to, but this time it's different. Only about 32 hours to go...

[Lacy]

Thank you for keeping us updated on your trip! It sounds like you are doing very well in preparing for your surgery and staying healthy! 31.5 hours left!

That's wonderful that you got a discount on your hotel room! $100 a night is some substantial savings!

I hope the rest of the time goes by without incident and you are able to finally get to the point where this is no longer a plan but an actuality! I'm so excited for you!

Hopefully you will be able to get some sleep tonight!

Lacy

[jill610]

Almost there! Good luck and happy thoughts for you!

[Jessica_Rose]

I slept reasonably well last night, except for a rude awakening around midnight. Susan brought an extra alarm clock which had stayed in the car until last night. Somehow the alarm became activated. Initially we thought it was the bedside clock, I unplugged that one and the alarm continued. It took another minute or two of searching before I found it. Pulling the batteries resolved the issue.

Susan is downstairs getting breakfast, I am drinking mine -- an 8oz bottle of vanilla 'Ensure'. It tastes a bit like a melted vanilla milkshake, but it has an odd aftertaste.

Not taking hormones for the last two weeks has not been as bad as I thought. I am a bit more irritable, and I seem to have a slight headache most of the time, but my anger has not returned. I can probably thank the spiro for that. I do look forward to restarting estradiol soon.

I still have not thought too much about tomorrow. I am happy the day is at hand, but there is still an unknown quantity. I don't know how I will feel when I awake, mentally or physically. I just hope Susan handles it OK. I have put her through enough pain.

Only 25 more hours...

[jill610]

The GRS surgery is about 3 hours if all goes smoothly, so they will probably tell Susan to go take a hike and they will call when the surgery is over and you are being moved to recovery.

I honestly don't remember anything between when I went under and the day after the surgery. I do not remember being in a lot of pain just being very uncomfortable. They kept me pretty hopped up on narcotics the first few days, so I am glad that I took photos. Looking at things I wrote those first few days, yeah I was drugged up.

Dont worry too much about the day after - you will be fine and they will keep your pain under control. Susan should expect that you will be seeing pink elephants and purple turtles for a few days and tire easily fit many days after that. They got me out of bed in day 2 for maybe 10-20 minutes and that was a bit of a chore.

[Jessica_Rose]

Susan should expect that you will be seeing pink elephants and purple turtles for a few days....

Thanks again Jill!

I have been telling Susan that I am now a unicorn, something rare and beautiful. Yesterday while shopping she found a stuffed pink Valentines Day unicorn. Guess what will be sharing my hospital bed?

Most folks have mentioned remembering very little about Day 1, and not much about Day 2. It is just a bit of fear about the unknown, but I have no doubt that this is the right path for me to take.

[Kendra]

Best wishes and welcome to your future!  And your pre-op meeting a few minutes from now - you're almost there! 

[Jessica_Rose]

Thanks @Kendra !!!

My pre-op went well. Received my goodie bag which included a robe, cotton underwear, Ensure, sanitary napkins, ice pack, hand mirror, travel pillow, specimin container, catheter, soap, irrigation syringe, lubricating jelly, a bottle of magnesium citrate, bacitracin ointment, hibiclens, hand sanitizer, some over-the-counter medications, and some strange tubular acrylic things. I guess I'll figure out what those are for soon enough.



One of the nurses took some photos of my breasts from five different angles, then Dr. Ley came in to discuss tomorrow's events. She will start with the BA, which should take about 1.5hrs. Next they will reset the room and get to the vaginoplasty, which should take 3 - 4 hours. She had me disrobe to check things out, then became speechless for a few seconds. She was amazed by my hips, said she was jealous, and then said 'it was meant to be'. She checked out out my existing equipment and said the electrologist had done a great job, then said there was plenty of material for her to work with. The pre-op took about 1.5hrs, and Dr. Ley was smiling all the way through. The pre-op would have been shorter but we discussed some additional work I may have done when I return for my labiaplasty.

Susan and I are back at the hotel and I have started loading up on liquids. Only about 18 hours to go...