New Places To Visit In Phoenix And The Trip Home
New Places To Visit In Phoenix And The Trip Home
October 18, 2005
There are many mornings when I wake up feeling so thankful that I have another day to enjoy what life has to offer and collect more souvenirs from my life’s experience. There is a lot to be said about doing all you can to make the best of each and every day you have on this earth for it is finite. Over the past few days that Debbie and I have been talking about all that has happened to her. It appears that those who have had to deal with great challenges in life can see life from a very different perspective than those who have never been challenged in this way. Debbie nearly died and had to deal with a long, painful and difficult recovery, I transitioned to being physically female and there are many similarities these life experiences.
Sunday morning and I was planning to take another bike ride with our friend in Phoenix. Jen was feeling better this morning after dropping the Percocet and taking a few Tylenol and Motrin instead. We did our usual breakfast courtesy of the Holiday Inn. I was planning to head out for another bike ride with our friend in Phoenix, but we decided that a drive around Phoenix would be better for us.
This is the first day Jen is feeling good enough to take a trip like this. While Labiaplasty might be considered a less invasive procedure, it is still surgery and many underestimate the recovery time required. Knowing what we know now, it would have been a very serious challenge if we went with our original plan of me having my VAG done 6-7 days before Jen’s Labiaplasty. We would have been two semi handicapped women trying to make our way home. Yes, it we could have survived this, but wow, I’m glad things did not turn out that way. I’m not looking forward to more surgery in about three months from now. The feeling is totally different from getting my VAG done. I was driven to get that done and over with, this time around I just want to be done and over with it already so we can get on with our lives. There is a whole lot less energy and desire for more surgery. I guess it come from knowing what is involved in the recovery process and what problems can happen. Jen’s LP is still pretty swollen and painful when she moves around too much. Regardless, It appears to me that she is going to have a nice result when it’s all healed.
I called our friend in Phoenix and discussed our change in plans. Jen and I finished our breakfast, got ready and headed over to our friend’s home in Phoenix. The drive was much easier now after driving over there several times this week. The scenic route we traveled on was so much better than driving down Indian School Road which is full of traffic, not very scenic and stressful to drive on. We were welcomed with a warm hello from our friend when we arrived at her home in Phoenix. The three of us sat down to chat for awhile and planned where to visit for our day’s drive. Once we figured out where to go, the three of us went on a trip that brought us to downtown Phoenix and parts of Paradise valley that we have not been to before. We parked to take a walk around the ball park one baseball stadium. It was a pretty grand place with oversized baseballs, bats, and etc. The walk was longer than Jen expected and she was getting tired, so we headed back to the car and continued our trip. Our Drive continued on to a park in Paradise Valley that we have never been to before and one of the highest climbing parks in Phoenix.
When we arrived back at our friend’s home in Phoenix and she made us a few goodies to eat. Jen was so tuckered out from our trip that she took a short nap on the couch. It was time for me to pack my bike back in the box and have it shipped back home. Our friend and I chatted about a host of stuff while I took the bike apart and packed it. About an hour or so later, Jen woke up from her beauty nap and we got ready to head back to our room at the Holiday Inn. We said our goodbyes with a warm hug to our friend in Phoenix and thanked her for all the wonderful times and generosity she shared with us. These are memories we will always share and treasure.
We drove back to our hotel room via the scenic route and spent the rest of the afternoon taking a nap together. It was all fine until Jen woke me up and reminded me that we have a dinner date with Dr. Becky at 6:30 PM. The clock was just a bit before 6:00 PM and we had little time to get ready and drive over to the restaurant. It was amazing that we arrived at a few minutes before 6:30 PM. Dr. Becky was already there waiting for us in the restaurant’s waiting area. It was a nice warm hello for us all. Margaux was not able to join us since she had a dead line to meet for the transgender day of remembrance web page. The three of us had a nice dinner together and talked about everything from stuff Jen’s surgery, my surgery date in Feb. 2006, Dr. Becky’s recent cardiac related out patient procedure, our car project, happenings in the T* community, trans youth and health care. It was nice to have spent our dinner time together. Dr. Becky ordered a meal to go for Margaux and when the order arrived, it was time for our goodbyes until next time. Dr. Becky is very generous with her time and so willing to share with those in the T community. She really is a warm hearted soul in every way.
The rest of our evening was spent packing and getting things ready for our trip back home. We got ready for bed a bit earlier than usual knowing that the next day is going to be a long journey home.
The warm colors of the morning sky over the Scottsdale sky were ready to greet me when I awoke this Monday morning. Jen was still sleeping while I did my morning routine. Jen woke up a bit later and we spent a few moments together looking at the morning sky colors. I headed downstairs to get breakfast for us while Jen did her morning routine. Once this was done, it was down to the business of rolling our stuff into the car and drive over to AVIS car rental return. Jen check us out at the front desk and our trip back home has begun. We have done this trip several times before and now it has become pretty much routine. This is going to be our 5th round trip to Scottsdale. The AVIS car return was very efficient and the shuttle bus was waiting to take us over to the airport. When we took our baggage over to the SWA check in, they told us that the Fed Inspectors needed to approve them first.
The SWA ticket agent instructed us where to drop off our baggage and headed over to the boarding gate. Once again, we were early for our flight. It appears that the time required to get ready for a flight has become pretty efficient. The number of travelers is lower on Monday compared to the time we did this trip on a Sunday afternoon. It appears that weekdays and Saturday’s tend to have a lower volume of travelers. I spent part of the time waiting for our flight reading my medical records and writing in my journal. Jen tried to relax by finding a quiet place to sit. We did get Jen an early medical boarding pass to make it easier for her to get seated on the airplane. Our flight arrived and we boarded without incident. The flight back home a bit bumpy due to the weather conditions. Other than that, the flight was totally uneventful with no drinks or snacks. Our flight arrived a bit earlier than scheduled but we had to wait for several minutes while the gate to got ready to unload the airplane. The center isle of the plane was pack with folks antsy to get off. We just waited in our seats until the crowd thinned out a bit. It felt good to be almost back home. We headed down to the baggage claim for our bags, picked them up and caught a Taxi back home.
We were so happy to be back home again. Blasé our Parrot was happy to see us again after being away for the past week. Jen got into bed to rest from out long trip home while I headed off to pick up our mail from the post office and some food at TJ’s.
I drove the SAAB over to the post office, picked up our mail and while I was sitting in the parking lot, called Michelle to chat about our trip for longer than I should. When we were done. I headed over to TJ’s for a food shopping trip and headed home. Jen and I had a nice quiet evening together. The next day, I’m back to my usual routine.
Jen’s LP looks really good so far and is pretty much uneventful other than the usual post-op recovery process. In about three months from now, we get to do this trip again except it’s going to be my surgery date. I’m not really looking forward to more surgery. It’s been almost 10 months since my VAG and most of the healing process has completed. Just when it all has come back to feeling well, there is more surgery and recovery to deal with. Only this time, there is the added stress of my BA to deal with.
October 18, 2005
There are many mornings when I wake up feeling so thankful that I have another day to enjoy what life has to offer and collect more souvenirs from my life’s experience. There is a lot to be said about doing all you can to make the best of each and every day you have on this earth for it is finite. Over the past few days that Debbie and I have been talking about all that has happened to her. It appears that those who have had to deal with great challenges in life can see life from a very different perspective than those who have never been challenged in this way. Debbie nearly died and had to deal with a long, painful and difficult recovery, I transitioned to being physically female and there are many similarities these life experiences.
Sunday morning and I was planning to take another bike ride with our friend in Phoenix. Jen was feeling better this morning after dropping the Percocet and taking a few Tylenol and Motrin instead. We did our usual breakfast courtesy of the Holiday Inn. I was planning to head out for another bike ride with our friend in Phoenix, but we decided that a drive around Phoenix would be better for us.
This is the first day Jen is feeling good enough to take a trip like this. While Labiaplasty might be considered a less invasive procedure, it is still surgery and many underestimate the recovery time required. Knowing what we know now, it would have been a very serious challenge if we went with our original plan of me having my VAG done 6-7 days before Jen’s Labiaplasty. We would have been two semi handicapped women trying to make our way home. Yes, it we could have survived this, but wow, I’m glad things did not turn out that way. I’m not looking forward to more surgery in about three months from now. The feeling is totally different from getting my VAG done. I was driven to get that done and over with, this time around I just want to be done and over with it already so we can get on with our lives. There is a whole lot less energy and desire for more surgery. I guess it come from knowing what is involved in the recovery process and what problems can happen. Jen’s LP is still pretty swollen and painful when she moves around too much. Regardless, It appears to me that she is going to have a nice result when it’s all healed.
I called our friend in Phoenix and discussed our change in plans. Jen and I finished our breakfast, got ready and headed over to our friend’s home in Phoenix. The drive was much easier now after driving over there several times this week. The scenic route we traveled on was so much better than driving down Indian School Road which is full of traffic, not very scenic and stressful to drive on. We were welcomed with a warm hello from our friend when we arrived at her home in Phoenix. The three of us sat down to chat for awhile and planned where to visit for our day’s drive. Once we figured out where to go, the three of us went on a trip that brought us to downtown Phoenix and parts of Paradise valley that we have not been to before. We parked to take a walk around the ball park one baseball stadium. It was a pretty grand place with oversized baseballs, bats, and etc. The walk was longer than Jen expected and she was getting tired, so we headed back to the car and continued our trip. Our Drive continued on to a park in Paradise Valley that we have never been to before and one of the highest climbing parks in Phoenix.
When we arrived back at our friend’s home in Phoenix and she made us a few goodies to eat. Jen was so tuckered out from our trip that she took a short nap on the couch. It was time for me to pack my bike back in the box and have it shipped back home. Our friend and I chatted about a host of stuff while I took the bike apart and packed it. About an hour or so later, Jen woke up from her beauty nap and we got ready to head back to our room at the Holiday Inn. We said our goodbyes with a warm hug to our friend in Phoenix and thanked her for all the wonderful times and generosity she shared with us. These are memories we will always share and treasure.
We drove back to our hotel room via the scenic route and spent the rest of the afternoon taking a nap together. It was all fine until Jen woke me up and reminded me that we have a dinner date with Dr. Becky at 6:30 PM. The clock was just a bit before 6:00 PM and we had little time to get ready and drive over to the restaurant. It was amazing that we arrived at a few minutes before 6:30 PM. Dr. Becky was already there waiting for us in the restaurant’s waiting area. It was a nice warm hello for us all. Margaux was not able to join us since she had a dead line to meet for the transgender day of remembrance web page. The three of us had a nice dinner together and talked about everything from stuff Jen’s surgery, my surgery date in Feb. 2006, Dr. Becky’s recent cardiac related out patient procedure, our car project, happenings in the T* community, trans youth and health care. It was nice to have spent our dinner time together. Dr. Becky ordered a meal to go for Margaux and when the order arrived, it was time for our goodbyes until next time. Dr. Becky is very generous with her time and so willing to share with those in the T community. She really is a warm hearted soul in every way.
The rest of our evening was spent packing and getting things ready for our trip back home. We got ready for bed a bit earlier than usual knowing that the next day is going to be a long journey home.
The warm colors of the morning sky over the Scottsdale sky were ready to greet me when I awoke this Monday morning. Jen was still sleeping while I did my morning routine. Jen woke up a bit later and we spent a few moments together looking at the morning sky colors. I headed downstairs to get breakfast for us while Jen did her morning routine. Once this was done, it was down to the business of rolling our stuff into the car and drive over to AVIS car rental return. Jen check us out at the front desk and our trip back home has begun. We have done this trip several times before and now it has become pretty much routine. This is going to be our 5th round trip to Scottsdale. The AVIS car return was very efficient and the shuttle bus was waiting to take us over to the airport. When we took our baggage over to the SWA check in, they told us that the Fed Inspectors needed to approve them first.
The SWA ticket agent instructed us where to drop off our baggage and headed over to the boarding gate. Once again, we were early for our flight. It appears that the time required to get ready for a flight has become pretty efficient. The number of travelers is lower on Monday compared to the time we did this trip on a Sunday afternoon. It appears that weekdays and Saturday’s tend to have a lower volume of travelers. I spent part of the time waiting for our flight reading my medical records and writing in my journal. Jen tried to relax by finding a quiet place to sit. We did get Jen an early medical boarding pass to make it easier for her to get seated on the airplane. Our flight arrived and we boarded without incident. The flight back home a bit bumpy due to the weather conditions. Other than that, the flight was totally uneventful with no drinks or snacks. Our flight arrived a bit earlier than scheduled but we had to wait for several minutes while the gate to got ready to unload the airplane. The center isle of the plane was pack with folks antsy to get off. We just waited in our seats until the crowd thinned out a bit. It felt good to be almost back home. We headed down to the baggage claim for our bags, picked them up and caught a Taxi back home.
We were so happy to be back home again. Blasé our Parrot was happy to see us again after being away for the past week. Jen got into bed to rest from out long trip home while I headed off to pick up our mail from the post office and some food at TJ’s.
I drove the SAAB over to the post office, picked up our mail and while I was sitting in the parking lot, called Michelle to chat about our trip for longer than I should. When we were done. I headed over to TJ’s for a food shopping trip and headed home. Jen and I had a nice quiet evening together. The next day, I’m back to my usual routine.
Jen’s LP looks really good so far and is pretty much uneventful other than the usual post-op recovery process. In about three months from now, we get to do this trip again except it’s going to be my surgery date. I’m not really looking forward to more surgery. It’s been almost 10 months since my VAG and most of the healing process has completed. Just when it all has come back to feeling well, there is more surgery and recovery to deal with. Only this time, there is the added stress of my BA to deal with.
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