GP update

After having been to the GIC for her first appointment last week Lucy has been totally on a high (that was until she got flashed by a red light camera, then a couple of days later a speed camera and then drove her car into the back of another car so lets not linger on that!!). She booked an appointment with one of the 2 GP's at the surgery who know the full situation as she wanted to update them.

This particular GP that she saw is not her usual GP (who knows and is fine) however Lucy has seen her in the past and she has been brilliant in the way she treats Lucy and I think she actually prefers her. I do think it is a bit of an interesting case for this GP as she has not treated a transgendered patient before so Lucy is her first so she has a vested interest. Lucy went through all the discussion that she had with Jess (the GIC therapist) and discussed the Vaniqa. Although this is blacklisted by the surgery that is for the usual use of it and she thought they may be able to make an exception in Lucy's case which is great news as this is so expensive. Lucy also mentioned the blood tests that the Gender GP requires and again this GP is happy to undertake these and she wanted Lucy to email specifically what tests are required so she can get this organised. At the same time Lucy also changed her name on the medical records they hold so everything is aligned. This will prove interesting when she goes for her blood test and the nurse calls her name in a busy waiting room. Hopefully the nurse will see what the blood test is for and may be discreet but I think I am expecting too much. When the usual GP has Lucy as a patient he always comes and gets her and doesn't call her name out. Will let you know what happens when she goes.

Yesterday Lucy went for more tattoo coverup work. This time it was the shading on the phoenix and there is still an hour or so required on the peony tattoo before it is finished and Lucy is back there on Friday. Once that is finished completely I will share some pictures but it is looking amazing.

At the weekend we had Lucy's eldest son S and his girlfriend over for dinner. Lucy is so close to telling him but is just so understandably nervous. We do know Lucy's sons have been discussing her tattoo coverup between themselves and it was nice to able to show S the tattoo in real life. He did make a comment about associating his dad with the old tattoos however did understand when he was told that his dad had always hated them so didn't feel they symbolised the person he was. It was funny though as after they had gone I felt more reassured about telling him and Lucy felt less. He is the block standing between Lucy as she is now and going full time. I do feel the time is very near and she just needs to bite the bullet and do it and then we can get on and deal with the fallout, if any (but I suspect there will be).

In the meantime Lucy has received official confirmation from the GIC for her second appointment in September 2017 and has been told the consultation will be with Dr Stuart Lorimer. We have done a bit of a search about him and cannot find anything negative and I like the fact that he was nominated as a trans ally in the 2016 Sparkle awards and in 2015 he was included in The Independent on Sunday's Rainbow List of the most influential LGBTI people in the UK. There have been a couple of comments about how thorough he is and can see through any lies but I'm not sure why anyone would lie who wants SRS? I don't think Lucy has anything to worry about and although she is on the cancellation list she has already booked a hotel for us to stay at the night before the appointment. Not the same one as before and slightly further away. It is Lucy's birthday the day before so I am hoping that she will be up for going to dinner or doing something which would be nice.

There is not much else to report back on other than Lucy has now applied for a couple of jobs as she is looking to move away from driving. As yet there has been no response but fingers crossed she gets an interview for at least one of them if not both. I also have been made a moderator and admin of one of the partner support groups I belong to as the person who owns it is taking a bit of a sabbatical. It is the best partner group I have been on and although the partner group is a 'secret' Facebook group they have a public page as well as a website, Distinction, and they have a social group for couples, and separate spaces for the transitioning partner and another for the non transitioning partner. You just have to email them to join any of the relevant groups if anyone is interested.