Quote from: Valentina on December 29, 2009, 05:20:26 PM
Did you have somebody there with you, say, a spouse, a family member, A BFwhen you had GRS?

Will there be somebody there with you, say, a spouse, a family member, a BF when you have GRS?

Or are you gonna go it alone?

How lonely & isolated from everybody does somebody have to be to go it alone?  If you haven't got a family member that loves you, have you got a best friend, somebody that accepts you at least?

I wanted to go alone.
I didn't want to be responsible for somebody to sit around for a week with nothing much to do.
I wanted to be able to take naps (all the time) without thinking of others.

On the other hand, I got a chance later to be there for someone else's SRS and it was great.
I wasn't bored in the least.

Oops, am I being inconsistent?

I had my fiance with me the whole time.  He was my angel sent to watch over me.  There's no way I could have done this alone.

Forgot to say that both of my parents were with me for my GRS.

Quote from: Yvonne on December 31, 2009, 04:30:16 AM
How lonely & isolated from everybody does somebody have to be to go it alone?  If you haven't got a family member that loves you, have you got a best friend, somebody that accepts you at least?

I am an intensely private person.  While I don't doubt my family loves me, I was embarrassed beyond belief to have my brother with me for top surgery.  One, my family isn't into medical things, and to have drains and blood and bruising etc. totally grosses them out.  Second, I'm not *that* close to them that I want to share the reshaping of my (intensely personal) genitals.

In an ideal world we'd all have someone we accord that level of trust to; I do not at the moment.  And like renate said, I don't want to be responsible for someone else, and I hate asking people to wait on me hand and foot.

I did my hysto alone, and it was fine.  Clearly not the same, but enough.



Jay

I voted no cause I went alone for my SRS 14 years ago.  But I did not feel alone because I went to Menard's clinic in Montreal and he had us live in the residence together.  I made lots of friends who were all having the surgery and we lived together and dilated together and everything for two weeks.  Even the two days in the clinic before returning to the residence, I was in a room with another girl who had the surgery too.  So I did not feel lonely at all.

My spouse was with me when I had the colon graft revision 2 years ago.  By that I mean he visited me in the hospital for a little while almost every day.  But I felt more alone that time because I was in a hospital and no one was around most of the time except the nurses.

I voted no, but it turned out to be "kinda".

I did not travel with my partner, Pat, because she would have lost her job if she took the time off.  Though in retrospect, since she eventually lost her job anyway, it would have been better for her to come with me.

I traveled alone, but I met some wonderful people there who I did visit and they checked up on me while I was in hospital and recovery.  They drove me around the area and showed me some sights of the area I would not have seen otherwise.

If I had been completely unattended, I would have had a much harder time of it.

This is major surgery, folks, and you really, REALLY need support for your best recovery.  Had I gone to Montreal, I may have been in a better position since there is the recovery hotel, but this is nothing to take lightly.

-Sandy

-Sandy

Was there somebody with you when you had GRS?

yes.  my parents & my brother.

Nope. My BF wants to go, but I told him to save the ~$1,000 he'd spend on the flight/hotel for a vacation later this year for us both It's better spent that way, in my opinion.

~Sarah

My older sister & niece who's also my goddaughter stayed with me.

I wasn't alone.  I had a very dear relative with me.  I found FFS to be more challenging than GRS in terms of pain & recuperation.  I couldn't really see after FFS; my eyes were too swollen & I was in a lot of pain.  GRS, the pain was less but I still needed help with simple stuff.  I admire those people that have to go it alone.  I couldn't have done it all on my own.

I voted yes.  I haven't had surgery yet, but my mom has told me that when I have top surgery she'll go with me and help me after.  If I haven't moved too far, she'll probably be the one to go with me for my hysto as well.  She doesn't pretend to understand what I'm going through, but she supports me enough to know she can't change my mind and this is something I need to do for myself, just not alone.

Assuming I do, likely not. Unless I have an SO at the time who's really that close.

Quote from: Yvonne on December 31, 2009, 04:30:16 AM
How lonely & isolated from everybody does somebody have to be to go it alone?  If you haven't got a family member that loves you, have you got a best friend, somebody that accepts you at least?

Hmm, have to agree that I don't want my mom around for something she won't approve of. Something very personal, I'll likely not want to be bothered. Too personal for friends. That's just not they way I deal with friends.

Maybe going alone doesn't necessarily mean someone is lonely.