Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Hmmmmmmmmmmm may that didn't come out right.

Anyway yesterday was a very busy day therapy, doctors, etc.  But the good news was that my therapist gave me my letter for surgery, low and behold see found that I was a perfectly normal person with no issues (go figure) :)  All I have to do now is wait for my one year sentence to to be complete - Aug 8th, next month I'll be sending my documents to the Menard & Brassard Clinic in Montreal.

And the beat goes on, the beat goes on.

Steph

(=
^*HUG*

Gratz Steph :)

Dennis

VERY cool! Congrats!

Congratulations Steph.

Melissa

 :icon_woowoo:   :icon_dance:

Congrats!

Congrats Steph. Dont cha love when you can see an end of the road? I know I am anxious to be where you are on day.

Was that all through Toronto Clarke Instuite? I have an appointment there this summer..

Quote from: BandannaChild on June 06, 2006, 11:40:34 AM
Congrats Steph. Dont cha love when you can see an end of the road? I know I am anxious to be where you are on day.

Was that all through Toronto Clarke Instuite? I have an appointment there this summer..

Nope, I did get a referral from my Dr, but I decided to go my own route as the distance was kind of an obstacle and there was enough talk on the web at the time on whether they were a good place to see or not.  That I was sort of detered from persuing it.  Anyway I would love to hear of your experience with CAMH (The Clarke) as their rep wasn't that good.  If would be nice to see if they have changed and it would give us another place to direct people to for positive care.

Steph

Right on.

Congratulations Steph!!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.telusplanet.net%2Fpublic%2Fmicrobus%2Fsnags%2Fbearkittyhugforyou.jpg&hash=8b1656cd7569e907b29eaa78f27ae65e92be9efe)


* :icon_hug:*

Michelle

Congratulations!

Chaunte

Congratulations, Steph! Another milestone...

Can you guess why I'm typing green? ;)

Annie

Congrats and good luck Stephanie!!  :D

good to hear:)

WHOO HOO ! ! ! !

I'm thrilled for you, Stephanie!

Time to start brushing up on your French?  :D

helen

Congratz Steph,

Couldnt happen to a nicer person. I am very happy for you. =)

Congratulations;   I hope you will enjoy your visit in Montreal as much as I did.  The facilities were great, and they are a great bunch of people.

The very best of luck and may God be with you!

I'm really excited for you Stephanie. It's been a long road, but that's a milestone completed.  Way to go!

Gina  :)

Thanks Gina.  It was a long time coming, but the wait is worth it :)

Steph

Congratulations!!  I am extremely happy for you.

Stacey

Huzzah!  Huzzah!!!!

Great news, Steph.  Was that your first letter or your second?  The 2nd letter is usually pretty much a formality, an hour or so with the PhD-type your therapist recommends and provides a recap to.

We have a friend who just went home from Montreal.  She was very happy once they took the stitches and packing out.  We'll see her once we finally get to go home. 

You'll be happy, too.  And the journey will continue.

Hugs.

Robyn

Quote from: reikirobyn on June 12, 2006, 08:04:51 PM
Huzzah!  Huzzah!!!!

Great news, Steph.  Was that your first letter or your second?  The 2nd letter is usually pretty much a formality, an hour or so with the PhD-type your therapist recommends and provides a recap to.

We have a friend who just went home from Montreal.  She was very happy once they took the stitches and packing out.  We'll see her once we finally get to go home. 

You'll be happy, too.  And the journey will continue.

Hugs.

Robyn

Hello Robyn

It was my first letter, the second is on it's way.  I was seeing two psychologists, one monthly and the other on a more casual basis.  The clinic in Montreal has sent me their package and the documents they require me to submit.  Hopefully by July 24th I'll have them all together and I'll courier them to Montreal or maybe even take them myself as the clinic is only 4 hours away.

Steph

Hey, Stephanie;

A belated WOO-HOO!!  YAY!!!  Congratulations!!!  Way 'ta GO!!!

The end of your long-held dream is now on the horizon, and I bet the year will seem to fly by!

Karen

Hey, that's great for you, and August isn't far now. :)

Quote from: Karen on June 12, 2006, 09:29:04 PM
Hey, Stephanie;

A belated WOO-HOO!!  YAY!!!  Congratulations!!!  Way 'ta GO!!!

The end of your long-held dream is now on the horizon, and I bet the year will seem to fly by!

Karen

Thanks so much Karen.  I do hope everything continues to go well.  I do wish I could get it over and done with, but I've waited this long so what the heck, I consider myself one heck of a lucky lady.

Steph

Congratulations, Steph #1 :)

sorry for the belated reply, haven't been around here in a while, still trying to catch up.

Keep us up to date on how it goes.

Thanks a bunch.

I'm still waiting for my last letter and that should be in next week then I'm off to Montreal :)

Steph

Congrats Steph!  Do you have a date set yet?  Btw, your newest av looks great.

Dawn

Quote from: DawnL on July 14, 2006, 08:49:09 PM
Congrats Steph!  Do you have a date set yet?  Btw, your newest av looks great.

Dawn

A date for surgery?  Not yet I phoned them to about getting on waiting lists, and the like but they won't consider that until they have my paperwork and a consult is set.  I'm going to bug them again on Monday, what the heck.

I'll probably take an afternoon on a friday to drive there as It's only 4 hours away and drop off my stuff in person, I don't know maybe they'll start something right away.  It would be nice if they said, hey Steph we just had a cancellation is this check good :)  If only.

LOL thanks for that, if you had seen my doo the day before you would have died laughing, it was horrible :)

Steph

Hi Steph:

OMG....I'm so excited for you!  I've heard that the Menard and Brassard clinic is like paradise on earth; besides, Dr. Brassard is such a gentleman that most of his patients fall in love with him ;)
Congratulations Steph...I'll be sharing your joy and happiness even more next january when it is my turn.....ha..ha..!!!


tinkerbell :icon_chick:

Quote from: tinkerbell on July 14, 2006, 09:30:57 PM
Hi Steph:

OMG....I'm so excited for you!  I've heard that the Menard and Brassard clinic is like paradise on earth; besides, Dr. Brassard is such a gentleman that most of his patients fall in love with him ;)
Congratulations Steph...I'll be sharing your joy and happiness even more next january when it is my turn.....ha..ha..!!!


tinkerbell :icon_chick:

You have a date in January for surgery, that's so cool, maybe we could get together, I'm not that far away.

Steph

:( I thought you were coming to Montreal :( oh well.  But the great news is that your date is not so far off :)

Steph

Congratulations Steph! How wonderful to be certifiable! As far as that sentence (it's the RLT right?), I always thought therapists wouldn't write the letter until you've completed the RLT, or is there something I am missing?

As far as your choice in surgeons I think you've done well. A friend of mine had her surgery by Brassard last January and hearing her talk about every aspect of her experience was like a dream. Everything was wonderful. Someday I will be heading up there.  

Quote from: Julie Marie on July 29, 2006, 09:12:25 AM
As far as that sentence (it's the RLT right?), I always thought therapists wouldn't write the letter until you've completed the RLT, or is there something I am missing?  

Oh, good question.  I want to know the answer too. :)

Melissa

Quote from: Julie Marie on July 29, 2006, 09:12:25 AM
Congratulations Steph! How wonderful to be certifiable! As far as that sentence (it's the RLT right?), I always thought therapists wouldn't write the letter until you've completed the RLT, or is there something I am missing?

As far as your choice in surgeons I think you've done well. A friend of mine had her surgery by Brassard last January and hearing her talk about every aspect of her experience was like a dream. Everything was wonderful. Someday I will be heading up there.  

As far as the letters go, it's the surgeons who are really enforcing the SOC and the 1 year RLT, not the therapists.  If you look in the SOC you will see that there is no time line associated with therapy, in fact psychotherapy is "Not an Absolute Requirement for Triadic Therapy".  So a therapist could write a letter with a diagnosis of GID and recommending surgery after one visit.

I saw two therapists.  One on a monthly basis, who provided the diagnosis and recommendation for surgery, and I saw the other therapist once every 4 months, and she also concurred with the first therapist, and each provided a letter before my one year RLT was completed.  I then simply contacted the clinic in Montreal, faxed them all my paper work, they verified them, and offered me a date, all before my RLT was complete.  I think the best thing to do is to contact the surgeon you plan to deal with and find out exactly what their requirement is as i know that each is a little different.

The requirement for letters as laid out in the SOC is under section 5 of the standards found  here (https://www.susans.org/wiki/Standards_of_Care_for_Gender_Identity_Disorders#The_Mental_Health_Professional).

Hope this helps

Steph

I'm happy for you Steph.  :icon_joy: :icon_joy:
I wish you only the best outcome.
I'm sure it hard to wait but it will be worth it.
:D
Jillieann

Congrats Steph ! another big step done ! the long road is getting shorter by the day now Gal !   good work and Congrats again ! couldn't happen to a better person !
Cheers !
Bob........

Happy trails to you, and take care.