Surgery trip – Day 4

Today begins the official surgery timeline – the 10 days that my medical plan covers. Starting with the first day and night at the bed and breakfast.

We checked out of the hotel at noon, and drove around for a while, eventually heading back to the creperie in the market that we found the day before. This time they had their full menu available. So, we shared a ham, egg, cheese, potato and maple syrup crepe, and a a apple, pear, caramel crepe for dessert. Both were very good.

The weather was very nice today, and the market was packed. We parked in the parking garage, and spent about an hour and a half to two hours wandering. Then we had to head for the B&B to get there at 3pm. Leaving the carp park was interesting, trying to figure out how the payment system worked. Even the local French speaking people were having issues with it, but it turns out I did do it right, and we were able to leave the car park. One thing I will say, parking in Montreal is WAY FUCKING cheaper than parking in Vancouver.

We made it to the B&B almost exactly at 3, only to find out that the hospital had not informed them Teresa was with me, and also needed another night’s stay after I left. We got that sorted away, with only a huge spike in anxiety.

Not really knowing what to expect at the B&B, we have found ourselves in an apartment with 2 bedrooms – sharing with someone who has not shown up since we’ve been here. The apartment is on the top floor, and has a full kitchen, living room, washer/dryer, 2 bedrooms and 1 shared bathroom.

It’s an older building, with disjointed doors, but it’s quaint and well maintained.

We drove up to a grocery store we’d been to before, and got some gluten free food stuff for Teresa for diner, breakfast, lunch etc… And I made us dinner. Unfortunately, the oven hadn’t been cleaned out very well, and got really smoky. Managed to not set off the smoke detectors, and everything turned out.

We spent a bit of time relaxing on the couch and are now getting ready for bed.

I’ve had people ask me if I’m nervous or excited or only thinking about the surgery, etc… But really, I’m not thinking too much about it. Meeting with Dr. Brassard the other day made me very comfortable just leaving this in his capable hands. I’m dreading all the comments that are going to come in after surgery – about finally being complete, or finally being a woman, or being at the end of my journey and the like.

This surgery is just a correction of something that is wrong – for me. I don’t even really feel like it’s part of my transition. For me, transition was about social acceptance and visibility. I’ve had that for over a year now in my mind. I’ve felt like transition is past tense for a while. As for my journey – there’s more to come. Life is about experiences for me. This surgery will allow me to have new experiences that were closed to me before. THAT is what I’m looking forward to.

Tomorrow I’ll talk a bit more about the surgery, may wind up being another TMI post.

Love you all,
Jess