It’s now 14 months since I transitioned and seemingly upset a few people! However, my life has continued without interruption.
Lots happened back in March & April last year, starting with my name change and getting my NHS record amended. Banks, HMRC/DWP, Ofcom and the District Council were amongst the bodies I needed to contact. This was really just bureaucracy & paperwork in action!
I was invited to a mammogram 12 months ago and am in the 3 year programme, that was arranged by the NHS centrally. I haven’t seen my GP in the past 14 months and my NHS complaint from last year was rejected on all points, oh well.
What this means is that, apart from a mammogram I haven’t been a “drain” on the NHS. I haven’t had any consultations, and my GP hasn’t prescribed me anything extra, compared to pre 2023, in fact she refused! Separate to that I’m currently in queue to be seen by the national Gender Clinic and this is at least 4 years away! That’s only an initial consultation and no decisions (none!) will be taken, so it could be another 5 years before I get anything at all, like HRT, from the NHS, other than my next mammogram in 2026!
So, nope, this is not a fast expensive process.
Legally I qualify for a Gender Recognition Certificate in 2025. This doesn’t change very much but is the final step in that process.
So what happens in the meantime? I get on with my life. I am hardly in hiding, at the time of writing my name has been in the local newspapers several times over the past month.
The name – I had started using it around the early 2000s. I published my first stories in that name in 2010 and my first book on Kindle in 2015, so it was used publicly for many years before it became my legal name. Amazon had queried my right to use that name but haven’t done so since I changed it. I now have 21 books on Kindle, with several more in the pipeline. Obviously there’s a wine connection, I do like quality red wines, but I like the ‘zesty but mellow’ derivation.
In short: I haven’t caused the earth to stop spinning, I haven’t drained the local NHS budget, and I’m very visible contributing to the community. Oh, and I’m still writing.