A little nervous, a little anxious, I pressed floor 3 in the elevator. The man standing next to me glanced twice in my direction as the three of us road the elevator up together. I couldn't tell if he glanced twice because he clocked me or if glanced twice because he was attracted or otherwise interested. The lack of facial expression.
At any rate... Floor 3. I stepped up to the admin desk and stated that I was there for my scheduled appointment. I also presented a certified copy of my recent legal name change and asked for the admin to change my records to reflect this.
She said, "OK, and take this chart. You'll want to fill this out for the nurse when you are called."
Great, thanks!
So I sat down and looked over the page full of lists with check boxes. I did not check one box, none of them applied. I was not in pain nor was I sick... so, what's a girl to do?
A couple minutes passes by as my friend and I just finished some small talk and I hear a male name called out. It was my given birth name. I looked at my friend anxiously, wondering if it was really me they were calling?
I was about to stand up when I seen a man pop around the corner and approach the nurse who was calling out for his appointment. Whew, I guess they weren't calling me.
Not a minute later, another nurse comes out to the waiting room and calls the same name. I looked at my friend again. I looked back at the nurse. She wasn't looking me? No one else in the room was looking at me? Wait... no one else is getting up either... ugh.
So, I figured it was 'me' she was calling. When I approached her she said 'Hi, uhh... you're (name) ??'
I cleared my throat and with a half smirk I replied "Well, that was my given name".
We walk back into an office and she confirms my name, I said yes. She seems a bit puzzled still and asks for my birth date. After my reply she says "Oh, I'm afraid I don't have the right person".
Oh, sorry.
So I go back out and wait, hoping to hear my female name called out by an informed nurse.
Nope, not even a minute later, another nurse comes out (a different one altogether) and calls out the same male name again.
OK, this is 3 times the same name has been called. People in the waiting room were looking at me a little strange as I rose again to the male name – I was presenting female (from hair to toe). This nurse seemed a little less shocked to see me approach though – and I only hoped this would be a good thing.
So as we walked back to the office, she said "I understand there was some confusion with your name"? "Yeah", I replied. "I just had my name legally changed and I presented it to the admin at the desk when I registered but I guess they didn't change it on the paperwork yet".
She apologized on behalf of all of the staff. I was grateful. She confirmed the nature of my appointment, asked some questions, took my vitals, and then started talking to me about womens health. She asked if I was interested in this new Vitamin D print out (info) they had and suggested I talked the information over with my Doctor to see if I should take supplements.
Cool! And to top it off, as she walked out of the office she apologized again on behalf of the staff and said she would have it all straightened out. She requested that I present my name change document after the appointment and be sure they make a copy to keep on hand for their records.
How wonderful. I don't feel so bad now.
The appointment was with my new endocrinologist. I had been referred one since my old 'Endo' changed locations to a private practice which my insurance did not cover.
Great. So as I'm leaving, I look down and see the print out of my two new prescriptions. It included my full female name AND it said FEMALE under the entry designation for sex!
I felt a rush, maybe a heart flutter? Whatever it was, it felt good. But this made me start wondering all sorts of things. Was he 'supposed' to mark my gender as female? Did he do it simply out of courtesy and respect or something? I mean, this can only be a good thing right?
So this is not a legal, court document... but I sure wish it could be used to verify my gender when I have to renew my ID's and...
Anyway – it just got me thinking. But even if it was only a nice thing for the Doctor to do for me – it felt awesome. So much so that I wanted to frame it. Too bad I have to turn it in for a prescription.
I just thought I would share this story because it meant the world to me to see my gender reflected correctly for once, especially after how that morning began. And at that moment, everything was just right.
