URNotAlone

My September 08 Update!

September 24th, 2008 8:07 am MDT

WOW! It has certainly been a while since I posted something in my Journal. So, I guess it is time to write a little something about how things have been going in my life.

Life has been very busy this year, and interesting. During First Event this year I had a consultation with Dr. Mark Zukowski and had secured a date for my FFS. It was to have been July 17^th of this year. I met with the HR rep at the company I work for – I’ll call her Sara - and let her know of my transgendered situation and my plans to transition. She was very supportive and understanding and had indicated that some of the guys at work had actually noticed changes in my appearance and some were actually taking bets that I was actually transitioning!! How about that!!!!!

My plan had been to go on medical leave and have my surgery. I had no intentions to return to work there because I did not think that was possible - I did not think it would at all be accepted. My therapist has been telling me all along that I might be surprised and that it may very well be possible to transition where I work, but I just did not think so. That is until Sara from HR called me into her office one day for a talk.

Apparently Sara in HR had to discuss with the company owner my request for medical leave for my FFS. Naturally, she needed to explain what it was all about. The owner was very understanding and indicated that if I wanted to return he would insure there would harassment would not be acceptable. WOW! I never expected that. So, my plans earlier this year moved forward in that direction…to at least have FFS and then worry about work after.

Unfortunately, an injury from October ’07 was coming back to haunt me. Last October I started having bursitis in my right shoulder. At the time my orthopedic doctor had given me a shot of cortisone and indicated everything should clear up in time. Then a week later all hell broke loose – a tendon in my arm had snapped. He said it was a common sports injury and he sees lots of them. At that point he made me have an MRI and the pictures indicated I had not only snapped that tendon but I had also torn my rotator cuff slightly, not bad but there was definitely a partial tear. He put me through about 5 months of physical therapy but when I wasn’t progressing we scheduled rotator cuff surgery for April 15th.

Mid April came and I decided to hold off on the surgery because I wanted to have the FFS first. By June my shoulder had worsened and another picture indicated the tear had become worse, probably because of all the darn snow shoveling I did this past winter (we had ton’s of it in the Mount Washington Valley). So, rotator cuff surgery was scheduled for July 22^nd and my FFS was rescheduled for next June. At work, my plans for medical leave for my FFS turned into a medical leave for shoulder surgery. Oh well. Life isn’t perfect I guess.

Prior to surgery my doctor indicated that he was hoping to only have to go in laparoscopiclly and clean things up. He did not think incisions and a full-blown cuff repair were necessary. That did not matter to me…surgery was surgery and I was not looking forward to it no matter what. The big thing is the recover time would be minimal if he only had to do a minimal repair. However, and he let me know it with certainly, if he got in there and things had worsened a more in depth surgery would be necessary and I could expect a much longer recovery period.

Unfortunately that is just what happened. When I woke from recovery he was standing at the foot of my bed with his arms crossed. I felt like I was being reprimanded for doing something wrong!!! He told me he could not repair everything laparoscopicaly and that he had to do a much larger incision and much larger repair than we had hoped for. Apparently I must have really screwed it up over the winter.

So, here I am. It has been almost 8 weeks since my surgery and I am out of work on disability and attending Physical Therapy three times a week. I have a lot of help though as my girlfriend – the love of my life – is taking great care of me. Thank God for her! At this point I am living in Connecticut. My shoulder recovery is progressing but it is progressing slowly due to all the scar tissue which has developed. My surgeon had indicated a recovery period of up to 6 months or more. Luckily I have great disability insurance so I am covered financially. I’m really looking forward to getting back to a full recovery….it is just going to take time.

So, what about my transition? My transition is going well! I have very little electrolysis left. I see my endocrinologist in a few weeks and that visit will mark an entire year on HRT. The changes have been phenomenal!!! My girlfriend doesn’t think I’ll ever need implants! It certainly is surprising how well the hormones have treated me. I’m really looking forward to FFS next June!

So, where am I going from here? Time will tell. When (and where) I return to work really depends on when my surgeon says its ok. It could be another month or more. I’m only into my third week of range-of-motion therapy and there is at least another month of that. Then there will be another 12 weeks of strength training. Even if I do return to work in NH it will probably only be for a short period of time. I am very much settled here in CT and have great work opportunities close by. I really like it here and this is my new home. Staying up in NH 4 nights a week and traveling back to CT each weekend just seems way too much.

So, that is that for now. I hope everyone had a great summer. I’m definitely looking forward to the fall season. That is my favorite time of year next to winter!!!

For now…..take good care everyone!!. Stay safe and stay happy!!! Stop in from time to time and say hello!

Love,

~ Jackie Lee