Timeline and Early Preparations
I have a surgery date for metoidioplasty! I have a surgery date for metoidioplasty!
November 17th, 2021. No timeframe for the day yet but I'm guessing I'll have to be there relatively early in the morning, considering the fact that it is a longer surgery. I spoke with the OR scheduler for Dr. Hadj-Moussa on Monday, August 16th and confirmed all of my appointments. It feels so good to have dates on the calendar and to be able to start making the initial preparations for all of this.
I'll be driving to Michigan with my partner (about an 11 hour drive), and will be staying in an AirBnB just outside of the city. The place I landed on is a one-bedroom guest suite with a private entrance and a pull-out couch for extra bed space. My requirements (beyond basic needs) for an AirBnB were:
- Close to the U of M hospital
- Between $75-125/night
- Full kitchen
- Lots of natural light
- Washer and dryer
- Big couch so that I have somewhere else to lay down that's not my bed
It's not right in town, which is something I was vaguely concerned about - what if I have to get to the hospital quickly? What if I'm miserable not seeing any other people for two weeks? What if I want to walk to a restaurant? And so on, and so forth. Ultimately, I decided that we are close enough to the hospital (about a 15 minute drive), I probably won't actually have any interest in seeing strangers and will appreciate the quiet of a secluded spot, and logically understand that I won't be sitting at a restaurant at any point within two weeks of my surgery. For a 15 day stay it's going to cost about $2,000, which is on the lower end of what places were going for, especially within the city itself.
I'll be getting into Ann Arbor the Monday before my surgery, and then have to take a rapid COVID-19 test that following Tuesday morning. Surgery itself is on Wednesday! And then my first post-operative appointment is on November 29th, 12 days after my initial surgery. I have my next post-op (and a retrograde urethrogram) scheduled for December 16th.
In the time between my post-ops, I'll be recovering back at my parents' house in Minnesota. Either my partner will be driving me there and then flying home, or she'll fly home from MI and my dad will fly out to drive me home. It ends up working well because the car we're driving belongs to my partner's brother and needs to make its way to Minnesota regardless! And I'll be saving a ton of money with not flying (plus less COVID worry) and not needing to rent a car.
Part of me wishes I could come home to New England to recover, but I'm a farmer and live quite rurally and my partner has farm upkeep to take care of after my initial 12 days in Ann Arbor. Going back to Minnesota means lots of availability from my parents (and my mom is a nurse) and more access to trans masculine community that I'm involved with there. I think that will feel very key while recovering!
So, I'm now in the waiting period with plenty of things to take care of before surgery. My list looks a little bit like this, currently:
Book an AirBnBConfirm driving plans- Book returning flights for myself & partner, possibly book flight for dad to MI
Tell my part-time job that I will need that time off- Apply for paid medical leave for the days not covered by accrued sick time
- Check in on pre-auth with insurance
- Schedule pre-op appointment for a month before surgery
- Buy supplies for surgery
- Make plans for farm sitter
- Talk to trans friends about post-op care needs
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