| I stopped at the grocery store before I made my way to Jodie�s house. Our eating habits couldn�t have been more polarized, especially when it came to breakfast. She never ate anything in the morning and I never left the house without something in my belly. After picking up some goodies I arrived at Jodie�s house to unpack my belongings, once again. I was getting used to living in other places other than my own. I had no clue how living with Jodie for a month was going to be. I don�t even remember if she was there when I got there. I do remember settling into her basement bedroom and getting ready for my first dilation there. It was wonderful to see Jodie for the first time since we hugged before she flew to Thailand. Both of our bodies had surely been transformed in the meantime. What was not so obvious was how naive we were when it came to all the other things that had changed in our lives as well. Jodie and I could talk for hours on end and not get tired or bored with the conversation. This would be just the start of many encounters we would have in which we would witness the continued and bewildering metamorphosis right before our very own eyes, and seemingly be powerless to affect it. I managed to get in the fourth dilation of the day and finish around midnight. I nestled into bed feeling safe and secure in my new home for the next month. I couldn�t help but ponder my future, hoping my existence would someday get back to normal. Full-Time Job I was fully aware of the rigors associated with having to dilate four times a day from reading the literature Dr. M�nard's office had given me and from listening to the girls who had gone through it. I never imagined how much of a full-time job it was going to be until I had to find the time during the day to fit in the four dilations. Jodie would laugh at me for being so religious about keeping to my dilation schedule. I made the commitment to follow the schedule put forth by Dr. M�nard, even if it meant there were other things in my life that had to suffer because of it. Believe me, in the beginning there was nothing easy about working four times a day to stretch out muscles that were never meant to be stretched in that manner. It was a painful procedure for me considering that I was so tiny in the hip and groin region. I never thought I�d ever get up to using the �big mama� (the 1-1/2" stent) that I�d heard so many post-ops unaffectionately refer to it as. Strangely though, I found a sense of comfort in making the effort to dilate. If the schedule stated to take 30 minutes in a session, I would take 45 minutes. It was never really a burden to me, and until this very day I still find the whole process comforting. I guess I still marvel at being able to do something with my body that was once physically impossible to do. <<BACK<< >>NEXT>> |