My dealings with the most highly recommended gender services department in my area were absolutely miserable, and left me feeling bitter, hopeless, and morose for a long time. But now there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel!
Okay, so, to backtrack...
In July
Me (into phone): Yes, is this the University of _________ gender services?
Employee: Yes, it is. How may I help you?
Me: I'm transitioning from female to male and I'd like to make an appointment with one of your doctors on staff to discuss my HRT and surgical options, please.
Employee: We'd be glad to help! Just give me your name and number, and one of our doctors will call you back in the next 24 hours or so.
Me: *gives name and number* Thank you very much!
For the next 24 hours...
Me: *waiting for phone call that never comes*
The next day...
*repeat of the same phone conversation*
*repeat of waiting for nonexistent phone call*
THIS HAPPENED EVERY DAY FOR TWO F***ING WEEKS.
Literally. LITERALLY. I called THE MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED GENDER SERVICES CLINIC IN MY STATE on a DAILY BASIS.
NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON EVER CONTACTED ME.
It still makes me angry just to think about.
Tangent!:
Trans life is not the easiest thing in the world to do. You meet with a lot of opposition. There are, however, people who are obligated to be on your side. Those people are doctors. Doctors whose paychecks will increase significantly if they work with you. Doctors whose credentials will are also constantly on the rise. Doctors whose job it is to give medical attention to those who need it.
So being blatantly ignored by an entire team of doctors did not make me a happy camper.
Eventually, frustrated and broken, I called the gender services clinic in hysterical tears, bawling my situation to a very uncomfortable employee on the other end of the phone and begging to be allowed to speak with a doctor so that I could please, please, PLEASE take the steps necessary to move forward in my transition, promising up and down that I really am trans and I'm not lying, and desperately pleading to know if anyone at the clinic cared about me or my situation. I made quite a spectacle of myself.
The bewildered employee promised me that someone would call me back very shortly.
Again...
THE CALL NEVER CAME.
So I gave up.
This weekend...
A friend of mine came home from school. This friend of mine grew up in my area, but he goes to school out of state, so I don't get to see him very often.
This particular friend is also a transman.
He went through the gender services clinic that had blatantly ignored me for weeks for several steps of his own transition.
Trans Friend and I met up for dinner this weekend. I won't lie; it was GREAT to see him again. We spent more time than necessary in the restaurant, talking about our families and school and not actually eating the food we had ordered.
Trans Friend was aware that this particular gender services clinic can be a bit difficult; he was one of several people who recommended the clinic to me, with the forewarning that you have to call them on a regular basis in order to actually get their attention. However, even he was surprised at the treatment I received.
Having been in my position (confused, with very few resources, desperately reaching out for help), Trans Friend very generously got me the contact information of a doctor with this clinic, so that I could contact her directly instead of calling the clinic every day.
So, hopefully sometime soon, I will be starting HRT!
My goal is to grow a beard.
