After the Transition—Reflections, Recovery, and Continuing the Journey
Binary to Binary: A Gender Transition Roadmap
by Susanna Blake, Part 8
Click here to read Part 7.
Home in Pennsylvania
In between the August and December surgeries, I arranged a fall semester of free voice lessons after researching three providers who all specialized in helping transgender people, especially trans women. Estradiol does not help raise your voice. Unsurprisingly to me, practicing a more feminine voice was not a high priority for Caroline. She does, however, usually modify her voice when on the phone with strangers since they have no visual clues as to her gender.
The bottom line on out-of-pocket expenses for every aspect of Caroline’s transition was about $58,000. I kept meticulous records during 2019 since most of our travel, housing, and food expenses in Arizona were tax deductible. Caroline was an adult dependent on her father’s and my joint marital taxes for that single year.
After recovering from her December surgeries, Caroline job hunted and found an excellent starting professional position in a town about an hour away. I was able to locate a qualified doctor there to prescribe estradiol and monitor her hormones annually. Note that she will need to have her prostate checked in the distant future.
I then wrote to a local hospital system regarding eight specific ways they could have better served this transgender patient and earn a better Human Rights Campaign Health Equity Index rating.
Final Thoughts: A Journey of Pride and Education
Caroline is going about her life as a young professional woman with no interest in LGBTQ activism. I try to stay up to date on related current events and get the word out in my local area that I am eager to coach people—though only in person. I have been turned away from offering my volunteer assistance to our two local hospital systems due to my lack of medical credentials and also turned away from various LGBTQ organizations because I am not transgender.
In the meantime, I wrote an hour-long lecture covering most of what is in this essay and have delivered it to a variety of local audiences.
I am so proud to have a transgender, lesbian daughter! She afforded me the opportunity of a lifetime to dig deep into a human experience I was barely aware existed. I am so thankful to her and all of the volunteer and paid professionals who guided us and all of our family and friends who have embraced, with joy, our daughter’s transition.
Binary to Binary: A Gender Transition Roadmap
is a guest blog series written by Susanna Blake.
We thank her for sharing her story.
Looking for support as you navigate your trans child’s journey? We’re here for you. Reach out today to get started with a counselor.