I have waited a long time to be able to be able to say this....I am now a POST-OP TS!!! On 4/15/2005, the wonderful and talented Dr. Marci Bowers performed SRS and breast enhancement at her clinic in Trinidad, Colorado. This is my story....

Before the surgery: I spent several years self-medicating from the internet and I didnt know how I was ever going to get surgery. Then, in 2004, I was fortunate enough to find a wonderful therapist, Dr. Sam Allen, who was very understanding of transgendered issues. He treated me with such respect and eventually validated my feelings of gender disphoria with a letter. Once I had letter in hand, I was able to get on with Dr. Deanna Jones as my GP and, for the first time, I had an actual perscription for my hormones. With all that settled, I started looking into reputable surgeons for my SRS. Dr. Marci Bowers, met my first criteria of being located in the continental US. The more I learned about her, from her website, from friends in the community and from the PBS special that was done on her, the more I liked her. So, in 10/2004, I made contact and after MUCH paperwork, I had my surgery scheduled for 4/15/2005.

4/10/2005: Anticipating a 3 day drive from my home in North Carolina, we left out at 8:00 AM Sunday morning. We ended up driving through the night and arrived in Trinidad, Colorado at about noon on Monday the 11th. Oops...think I was a little anxious to get there? *smile* It was actually kind of nice because we had 3 days to sightsee in Trindad. The thing I remember most was that we saw lots of rocks (The Rocky Mountains are truelly ROCKY! *laugh*). Click HERE to see photos of our trip and the hospital.

4/14/2005: Today was my pre-op consulation with Marci. It was scheduled for 9 AM, but Marci was out of town at the HBIGDA Conference in Italy and was bumped from her flight at the last minute. We were in constant contact with Julie, Marci's office manager, and I eventually got in for my consultation at 9 o'clock this evening. Marci was very apologetic for the wait, which wasn't her fault in the first place, and my consultaion was completed with no further problems. The consultation itself was not unpleasant. Marci examined my "current equipment" and said everything was fine there. Then she drew on my chest with black magic marker to mark where the incisions would be for my breast implants. The implants were a story in themselves, since I had been wavering back and forth between D and double DD for months before my surgery date. In truth, I didn't even know what my decision was until I heard myself say DD to Marci. *laugh* Then she gave me a bottle of lime flavored laxative and sent me on my way to pre-register at the hospital. The hospital staff were very nice, they drew my blood, took my vitals and sent me back to my motel to await the morning. With a 12 oz bottle of laxative, I don't have to tell you how I spent I spent the rest of my night! *laugh*

4/15/2005: TODAY IS SURGERY DAY!!! I arrived at the hospital at 4:30 AM (only SRS could get me out of bed at that hour!) and they took me to the room that would be my home for the next week. The nurses came and did an EKG on me, checked all my vitals again and then shaved me down. An IV was started and I was given a mild sedative. At 6:40 AM, I was wheeled away from my beloved Charles to the pre-op room. There I put on my compression hose and sterile gown and cap for surgery (high fashion, let me tell you!). There was a parade of people in that room and I met my anesthetist and my OR nurses. Then, last but not least, Dr. Marci arrived! She was very sweet and checked to see how I was holding up and then went off to prepare for the surgery.

At around 9AM, I was wheeled into the refrigerator that they call the Operating Room (60 degrees and I'm bare ass naked on a metal table! LOL). Once in the OR, everybody was doing their thing, including my anesthetist, who asked me what kind of music I liked. I told him 70s stuff and he told me he was putting on Santana, but I really wouldn't know if he did because I was out like a light. On a side note, since then, everyone I have talked to has told me that he has said the same thing to them and they dont remember hearing it either. For all I know, there was Barry Manilow playing while they cut into me. *laugh* Marci completed the SRS portion first, then took a break, and returned to do my breast enhancement at noon. The rest of this day will be described by Charles, since I was out of it at the time....

Charles: I ran into Marci in the hall around noon and saw she was in fresh scrubs. I asked how things went and she told me Cindy's lower surgery went amazingly well and there was very little blood loss. She went on to tell me that the breast augmentation would take about another hour and then about another half-hour for recovery and then I could see Cindy. I went out and grabbed something to eat and returned to Cindy's room at 1:30 PM. I sat there, and I sat there, and I sat there and, at 2:30, they wheeled her back in. She woke up as they brought her into the room, she said "hello darlin" and then passed out for another 3 hours. The nurses hooked her up to oxygen and a heart monitor and put up her IV drip. She woke up at about 5:30 PM and Julie, the office manager, came by to see us and check how we were. Cindy then conked out for the remainder of the night. The staff was nice enough to provide me with a geriatric chair so I was able to sleep at her side throughout her entire stay in the hospital.

4/16/2005: I was kind of groggy this morning, but started to come around about mid-day. I was not allowed any food, but my mouth was so dry they gave me ice chips to avoid my having a coughing fit. The pain, especially in my right breast, was pretty intense. Oddly, I was experiencing phantom pains in my genitals, like I still had my former equipment (it felt like somebody was putting my dick in a vice and tightening it!). The nurses came in and gave me some pain pills. In the early evening, Marci came by and checked up on me. She ordered a morphine drip for my IV and that's when things got complicated. I gave myself a dose and the pain didnt decrease. I gave myself another dose 30 minutes later and I started vomiting violently. That was enough for me and I asked them to remove it. After that, I just took 500mg Tylenol and that was my pain medicine for the rest of my stay at the hospital. At about 7 PM, I got a tray of "hospital food" (which really is an oxymoron) and had my first meal since the night before surgery.

4/17/2005: I noticed an odd squeeking noise in my left breast whenever I moved my arm. When Marci arrived in the evening, she said that was normal and caused by the swelling. That was a relief because I was afraid it was in crooked or something! I got all three meals of "hospital food" that day and managed to nibble on each one. They were also giving me some very nasty tasting coffee, which I declined to ingest, despite the fact that I am a coffee junkie. I got up and walked around my room a little bit today.

4/19/2005: They removed the drain from my lower surgery today I was expecting pain when the drain was taken out, but I really didn't feel any (which surprised the nurse, too!). I was able to walk down the hallway today and am feeling much better. The hospital staff was on me to drink more water because my kidney output was not a pretty yellow but more of a dark brown and there wasn't enough showing up in my catheter bag. Never a fan of water, I did my best to comply. Yesterday and today, my friend Tommy from the TGA, dropped by for a visit while she was vacationing in Colorado.

4/21/2005: Today they removed my catheter and all the packing from my vagina and I was discharged from the hospital. We went and found a hotel room in town (not a good place...3 days there, 3 times we saw the cops raiding rooms) and settled in for the remainder of our stay in Colorado.

4/22/2005: I called Marci this morning because I was having problems urinating (Charles said my eyeballs were turning yellow). I went to her office and she replaced the catheter. As soon as it went in, I felt relief like I can't begin to express. She said the problem was caused by the swelling and told me to leave the catheter in for another 7 to 10 days. I reminded her that my GP as Deanna Jones and she suggested I get in touch with her for follow ups to begin as soon as I got home.

4/24/2005: We stopped by the hospital to say goodbye to all the staff and some of the other TG girls I had met during my stay. We started back home at 11 AM, with me laying in the back of the van and Charles' face swollen up from 2 abscessed teeth. The ride home was quite uncomfortable but uneventful. I even managed to drive for about 4 hours while Charles grabbed a nap. We arrived home around 1PM on 4/25/2005 and I immediately climbed into my bed to play invalid for a week, per Dr. Deanna's orders.

4/30/2005: I am still in the bed, but I am able to walk around and take a bath everday. Warm compresses on my genitals helps with the swelling and actually decreases my pain a bit. My catheter is still in, but I am hoping it will be removed when I see Dr. Deanna on 5/2/2005. I am still in pain, but it is diminishing. The swelling, unfortunately, is taking it's sweet time going down. I am just so glad to be home with my good coffee, my kitties, my king sized bed and my family.

5/3/2005: I am very happy to announce that my catheter is OUT! Today I was able to pee and sit comfortable for the first time in 3 weeks. Color me ecstatic! I still have a fairly steady burning pain with occassional stabbing pain, but it is getting better.

5/7/2005: What a surprise, after two weeks with a cathater, I have a urinary tract infection. Guess that explains the burning from my last post! I am now taking antibiotics and the burning is just about gone. I am able to walk around pretty well now and even feel up to putting on clothes instead of my old bathrobe.

7/23/2005: Happy to report that, 13 weeks post surgery, the urinary tract infecton, and subsequent yeast infections, are all gone! My vagina is no longer swollen and I am able to wear panties again. The bleeding from the incisions is done.

Part of the post operative maintenance of SRS surgery is dialating the vagina. I was not doing this as often as I am supposed to because of the swelling, but now I am right on track. I have 6 inches of depth now. I am looking forwarded to "using it" for the first time, in the beginning of next month. *grin*

This surgery has done more for my brain then for my body, as far as being happy with myself. All of my paperwork has been changed and I am looking forward to getting married in the forseeable future.

If you are contemplating surgery yourself and are interested in seeing surgical pics for your own reference, feel free to email me and I will send you to a private page. Before you request the link, please be aware that these photos are showing my post surgical recorvery so they are a bit gory.