Longer and longer!

Transition is not the easiest process in the world but boy! (sorry, I mean girl!) are there benefits.

I dreamed for so long of letting my hair grow and now I have been able to.  It is not down to my shoulders yet but it is certainly on the way - I can tuck it behind my ears now, if I choose.  It makes me so happy!

I had my 6-month check up with Dr May at the Wimpole hair transplant clinic a few days ago.  What a transformation, looking back at my old photos.  There is now just a little thinness at the crown and just behind / below it.  I can't see it without performing gymnastics in front of the mirror but I know its there and want it gone, so I will definitely have another 1000 transplants in a couple of months time to completely eliminate this.

Now I have started to look at hair accessories in the supermarket.  Wonderful!.  I find that I am naturally a little wavy or curly, so just some careful brushing in the morning and I have a style I am quite happy with.  Oh! What a change from a trip to the barber and debating whether to have a number 1 or number 2 cut.  Poor barber - he must have wondered where I disappeared to a couple of years ago.

Only a little over 4 months now until my trip to Thailand for the 'big op'.  I can't wait.  I lie in bed at night and dream of the final result, of being on my favourite beach in Cornwall in summer 2013 in my swimming costume with 'nothing to hide'.  I am so excited!

Do stay with me for the ride.

Robin Moira White

Escaping the dalek and the throttled frog.

Its been a rather strange Queen's Jubilee weekend for me, starting to get used to a new voice.

I had my surgery on Tuesday morning and was discharged from hospital on Wednesday.  By Thursday I could manage speech on a single high frequency - rather like the monotonous daleks that kept us hiding behind the sofa when Dr Who was new.

By Friday I had improved to a 'throttled frog' in time to visit Gary Wood, my speech therapist and work out some exercises to improve my range. 

Things have been improving virtually hourly, as wth hoarseness and swelling subside in roughly equall measure.  It is hard to predict quite where things will settle down but my resting frequency certainly sounds markedly higher to me than it did before.  Of course, you are not usually the best judge of your own voice, as you don't hear yourself as others hear you, so I am looking forward to hearing the reactions of others in the next few days and weeks.

Robin Moira White