Reassignment Surgery SRS Part two

This is where I speak about the emotional and practical things. Next I will give you the medical side of things.
After two unsuccessful attempts on killing myself I decided that to go fulltime and all the stress was better than death.
So the long trip to getting SRS the realization that I could finally be me, gave me a huge adrenaline rush which is still going 3 years later. Like a few others of my age I hadn't know that it was possible to completely transform my body from m>f. But after the VicGender meeting I finally knew the truth.
After all the psychiatrists and Doctors reports along with the blood tests x-ray where gather, name changed passport obtained in new name and most important to me it F for sex :-)
After contacting Ying making the arrangements for SRS in two months it was all go. Being one of the fortunate ones Mary (wife of forty four years) would come over with me for support.
It may sound strange but I really didn't get overly excited or scared about the operation and its consequences. To me it was just another step along the way to full transformation.
The two months passed very quickly. So the great day came and we were on the plane to Bangkok the only fear was that when Dr.Saran met with me, he would say I was too old or I had some health problems that would stop me from having SRS. We flew into Bangkok and was greeted by the lovely Ying (she could not have been nicer).

Piyavate Hospital

At breakneck speed she took us to the hospital and settled us in, saying she would see us at 10:00 the next day. The big moment had arrived I was to meet Dr.Saran. What would he be like what would he think of me? These ran through my mind like a wild fire. But I should not have been concerned as like Ying he was wonderful. His manner was very calming as he explains he could not make me into a woman but he could alter my body to represent that of a female the rest was up to me. Then a few more tests and the moment came then Ying said “Dr.Saran will operate on you tonight” My heart skipped a beat and a smile came over my face that stayed there and to this day is still there.
The time came for me to be wheeled down to the theater; Mary came with me to the doors of the theater, one final kiss. The theater was large and modern the anesthetist introduced himself saying he had a couple of things to do. The next thing I remember is waking up in recovery. My reaction was to giggle not from the anesthetic but from the knowledge that I was finally rid of the thing that had identified me as male. I was freezing cold so they put a special heated blanket over me. Mary was there holding my hand, what a wonderful moment it was for me. A peace if advices if you can have a friend to be there when you wakeup do so as it is a special moment. To finish off the memory a nurse said happy birthday as she walked past what a moment in time :-)
This is getting a bit long so I will continue in a day or so.

Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS)

To many sex reassignment surgery (SRS) is the be all and end all. But in reality it is only one step along the way. To me it is very important that any one that is contemplating SRS should be very certain that they will be happy living as a woman. To live fulltime and be prepared for the emotional hurt of maybe losing all your friends and family members (this may not happen but there is a risk). SRS does NOT make you into a woman all it does is remove your penis and have a vagina simply speaking. If you are struggling feeling feminine then seek help. To me it is very important to see a psychiatrist that specializes in gender issues.

The reason I chose Dr. Saran Wannachamras http://www.doctorsaran.com/index.php
Are many so I will list then not necessarily in order of preference

1) Is one of the qualified plastic surgeons that is known for his good work and was trained by Dr. Preecha.
2) Having seen the results of his work I was more than hoppy with the look
3) The reports of the new vaginal canal had good sensitivity and the surrounding area
4) He used combination of a penile skin inversion and skin graft
5) As a qualified plastic surgeons he could also do Facial feminization surgery (FFS) later if required
6) The cost of US$ 12000:00 for SRS and Brest implant surgery and that all surgical and hospital costs where included
7) The time the operation would take
8) The care and after care he supplies. From the time I would get off at the airport to the time I would leave Bangkok


To qualify for SRS with Dr.Saran (taken from his www) and all reputable surgeons you will need to have

Criteria
Patient must be at least age 18 years of age. Patients will require permission from parents if under 20 years old.
Patients must be diagnosed with at least one of the following disorders: gender identity disorder, gender dysphoria, or associated conditions (anxiety, depression).
Patients must have undergone at least one year of antiandrogens or/and hormones.
Patients are required to have lived full-time in the cross-gender role for at least 1 year (sup-ported by Identification Documents).
Patients must have approval from a psychiatrist (MD), psychiatric social worker (PhD), or clinical psychologist (PhD).

On the 18-Aug-2010 I had SRS and Brest implants
All the surgery went well and I was very happy with the results
In my nest blog I will explain the ins and outs of having SRS

My First Admirer

Coming home from seeing my psychiatrist I was driving along the highway. There was this delivery van in front of me; he was going a bit slow for me so I decided to pass him. As it was a three lane highway I stayed in the outer lane. After a kilometer I notice that the van was keeping up with me. I looked over to the left and to my surprise and amazement could see the driver hanging out of his window so he could see into my car. What in the world was he looking at? Then I looked down in the direction he was gazing. I was wearing a black skirt with a split in the side; I noted that you could see the top of my stocking. I looked at him stunned, then the penny doped so I smiled at him and continued to drive, with the skirt having mysteriously slipping slightly higher. He then drove at the same distance and position in relationship to me for about seven kilometers, when I needed to turn off the highway. It astounds me as I am not young or attractive that someone in his early thirty’s would be interested in me. But it was good for the ego. Or maybe he recognized me as transgender and liked transsexuals who know, but it was nice.

My First Gender Meeting

About nine months after starting hormone treatment I was told by my physiatrist that I should look up a Trans Gender group on the internet. I duly found VicGender, they held meeting once a month in the home of the president so I registered as a member and arranged to go to the next meeting.
The day came and I was scared stiff as I had only meet one other TG person so to go to a meeting was very daunting. But off I went I was the second there I was literally ringing wet, most embarrassing but they were very friendly and soon put me at ease.
After half an hour six more turned up. Three of the girls had just come back from Bangkok where they had sex reaciment surgery (SRS). The discussion turned to the look of the finished surgery and how it looked compared to a genetic woman. So one of the girls said would you like to have a look at the results? I said yes so off to the bed room we all went one of the girls striped and showed the scars in her arm pit where the breast implants where inserted. Then she lay on the bead and opened her legs, what a sight it looked all swollen and bruised. But she reassured us that the purple color was good as it meant that there was good blood flow to the grafted tissue. The operation was only six weeks ago so it gave me a very good idea of what it would be in for me if I had SRS. Then another girl showed her SRS. But that not all there was another girl that had been operated on six months earlier and another whose operation was one year before.
This was the best introduction that I could have had to TG groups and community. It was done with great dignity and kindness I cannot thank those girls enough. This was a real turning point in my life as to this time I was told by religious magazine that the operation left you scared and without any feeling. It was just mutilating my body, but clearly this was written by people who had a wheelbarrow to push and the facts where quite different to this predigest look they had about SRS. But to me it left me with a dilemma, I now new that I could have my body changed to the way I thought it should have been from the beginning of my life.

My First Gender Meeting

About nine months after starting hormone treatment I was told by my physiatrist that I should look up a Trans Gender group on the internet. I duly found VicGender, they held meeting once a month in the home of the president so I registered as a member and arranged to go to the next meeting.
The day came and I was scared stiff as I had only meet one other TG person so to go to a meeting was very daunting. But off I went I was the second there I was literally ringing wet, most embarrassing but they were very friendly and soon put me at ease.
After half an hour six more turned up. Three of the girls had just come back from Bangkok where they had sex reaciment surgery (SRS). The discussion turned to the look of the finished surgery and how it looked compared to a genetic woman. So one of the girls said would you like to have a look at the results? I said yes so off to the bed room we all went one of the girls striped and showed the scars in her arm pit where the breast implants where inserted. Then she lay on the bead and opened her legs, what a sight it looked all swollen and bruised. But she reassured us that the purple color was good as it meant that there was good blood flow to the grafted tissue. The operation was only six weeks ago so it gave me a very good idea of what it would be in for me if I had SRS. Then another girl showed her SRS. But that not all there was another girl that had been operated on six months earlier and another whose operation was one year before.
This was the best introduction that I could have had to TG groups and community. It was done with great dignity and kindness I cannot thank those girls enough. This was a real turning point in my life as to this time I was told by religious magazine that the operation left you scared and without any feeling. It was just mutilating my body, but clearly this was written by people who had a wheelbarrow to push and the facts where quite different to this predigest look they had about SRS. But to me it left me with a dilemma, I now new that I could have my body changed to the way I thought it should have been from the beginning of my life.

Day at Deaths Birth and Marriages Beware of weight loss)

Went to Deaths Birth and Marriages to have my birth certificate changed from male to female. I finally found the right department on the grown floor of a multi story building in Collins Street Melbourne. When you enter the room there is a ticket machine where you get your ticket that has a number so people can not push-in. There were about fifty people in the room waiting their turn. So I duly sat down and waited and waited for a long hour. Finally like a bingo game my lucky number magically appeared on the screen. I immediately jumped up with my winning ticket in hand. My heart was nearly jumping out of my chest with a mixture of excitement and fear. I duly proceeded to the counter with as much decorum and elegantly as possible.

I greeted the assistant with the words “You poor thing you have drown the sort end of the straw”. She smiled politely and probably thought yes probably have. Looking at it from her side of the counter was a six foot two inch transgender person trying to be funny.

Then came the long explanation of what I wanted. I started “I would like to have my Birth Certificate changed, the part that says sex I want changed from male to female“. The assistant chimed in and said “Yes I can do that for you (silly girl) if you have all your papers with you”. I then shook my head and said “Yes I have all my papers but you will not be able to change the certificate” she looked puzzled I then went on to explain that in Victoria if you are married you can not have your birth certificate changed.

At this point I noticed her supervisor taking an interest in my case. I proceeded to explain that this would mean that two people of the same sex would be married, which is something shocking in Australia. She then looked at me puzzled and asked the overuse question “What do you want me to do?” Now comes the interesting bit I wanted a letter from Birth Death and Marriages saying that they would not change my status. “Why she asked?”. Well I wanted my passport permanently changed to female. Which the Australian government will do if you have undergone sex reassignment surgery (SRS) or some other criteria. She looked to me with a blank expression on her face, and turned to her supervisor who just shrugged his shoulders and handed her the phone, telling her that he had not the foggiest idea what to do.

He gave her the departments head's phone number and smiled as he said “You explain what she wants and why”. Duly she called the number and started to explain the problem she was having with this funny looking woman had and could not resolve. After some minutes on the phone she came back to the counter with phone in tow, “Could you please explain to the head officer what you need”. I proceeded to explain my case. He listened attentively and then said with some relief that I would need a request from the Passport Office, unfortunate for him I had already had the letter. A sigh came over the phone, then the penny dropped a way of postponing the inevitable, “You will need to put your request in writing”, rats he had me the one thing I hadn't thought of. So with tail between legs I asked could I do it now he said smugly yes and the girl at the counter would help. But when asked she said it was illegal for her to write the letter that I would have to do the writing. I warned her that I was basically illiterate and my writing was eligible, but she stuck to the high ground. Then I went and wrote my complicated request in my best hand writing. When I was finished it looked like a fly had jumped in a jar of ink and randomly walked over the page. Then I proceeded with my epic in hand and shyly gave it to the assistant, she looked at it with some trepidation and said “That’s good all I need do is to photo copy all your documents” so off she went.

I was left standing at the counter with about fifty people sitting facing in my direction, manly bored out of their brains just as I was an hour ago. But some entertainment was going to be presented to then at my expense. I had been losing weight so I could have sex resentment surgery. When dressing in the morning I thought I would look good in a pair of black silk slakes and black knickers (the modest type) and a nice top, little bib I know what a mistake this was. While I was blissfully standing in front of all these people. I could feel something was not weight and looked down my lovely silk slacks had slipped to my knees. Panic hit me lick a hammer on the head, I quickly pulled then up and turned an un-listed shade of red. I did not look behind me but looked straight ahead. I thought I could hear a slight singer coming from the ordinance. The moral of the story is it doesn't pay to lose too much weight.

Quick Introduction

Hi This my first Blog so I will keep introductions to a minimum

Things you need know about Ina:-

I cannot spell even if my life depended on it, it keeps my friends in content amusement. They play spot the correct word.

I am transgender male to female. I have had SRS (sex reassignment surgery) and FFS (facial feminization surgery).

Married with two grownup children daughter married one child sun unmarried.

I have keep the intro short so you wont get bored

This has been the most exciting and happy time of my life.

We can look at life in two ways one is nothing good ever happens to me or life is exciting and I'm keeping it that way!

Of coerce like all in my position we have our ups and downs, some of these I will share with you as time goes on.

So that is the end of my short intro. So If you have any questions I will try and answer as we go on are journey