Author: Stephanie

Today I have built a partition wall between the back verandah and the outdoor area at Shelduck. It’s something I’ve been going to do for many months but finally got round to it today and I have tos at it looks amazing, everything went to plan, every thing fitted the way it was meant to and in the end it was very satisfying.

i am still receiving comments from my post on Friday, surprisingly not from some of the people I expected to comment but the best news is that I have reconnected with a couple of people I’ve not spoken to for 10 years or more which is lovely. I haven’t had a single negative comment which is great for building the confidence, I don’t even think about it now, I am Stephanie full time and. Dress accordingly which gives me so much pleasure and happiness.

Today I have spent most of my time reading and replying to wonderful comments after putting a shortened version of my story on Facebook. I am totally humbled by the love and support that I have been shown, yes there have been some shocked responses but nothing negative at all. We chose to go down the route of a controlled roll out of information after long discussions with Denise and my psychologist and it has proved to be the best possible plan, apart from one person everyone I have told has either kept it a secret or asked us if it was ok to tell someone else which we are so thankful for, we both really appreciate your integrity and discretion.

Today has been a very productive day, firstly an email from the lady dealing with my gender reassignment case giving me a date and time for my hearing, 5.15pm on the 22nd of May. As it’s the day we leave for America we will be up in Perth anyway so I would love to be present even if it’s just to show how committed I am to my journey but also if there are any questions it would be good to deal with them at the time and not have to handle them from America when I will be focused on the surgery but it will make it tight getting to Stuart’s and to the airport so time will tell.

Secondly, an email from Heather at the surgeon’s clinic to say all my test results are good, they have all the relevant signed consent forms and my payment has gone through so I’m all set to go, I’m so excited, it’s just 12 days till we leave and I can’t wait!

And thirdly, the first roof sheets went on the house today, in fact the whole back verandah is finished and it looks amazing, hopefully we will get the front done tomorrow then we are just waiting for the insulation and fire defence stuff to arrive before the rest of the roof can be done.

All in all a very good day and just what I need in the build up to Philadelphia!

The plan was for both of us to go to the block today but Denise had stuff to do here so I went on my own. The job I planned to do didn’t happen as I came across a problem and didn’t have the tools to sort it but I used the time to tidy up the shed, sweep up all the sand and fit the carpet round the shower and toilet, it had been annoying me for some time.

on arriving home I received an email from my ex boss in Yorkshire, having worked for them for 11 years I was fairly close to them and wanted them to hear my story first hand rather than from a third party, they were so appreciative that I had done, very understanding and supportive and will do a great job of telling people in a very sympathetic way and I’m sure tell the full story. I can’t wait to call in to see them when we are over, a lovely end to the weekend.

So while at the friends for dinner (names will not be named!) one of them mentioned they were going on a bike ride in the morning, I mentioned that if they would like some company to let me know and I would join them. I repeated this in a message this morning but heard nothing back until about 10 past 9 when I received a photo of said persons bike lent up against the Siesta park reserve sign and the caption “catch me up” now I thought, it won’t take me long to get there so agreed, got my bike out, put on my helmet and set off. I have to say it was further than I thought, it probably took me 20 minutes and when I got there there was no sign of her, I peddled on but was unsure where the cycle track went so messaged her again asking for directions but heard nothing back so carried on, and on, and on until I reached Dunsborough. Still no sign and by this time, probably 17 or 18 kms later my bottom is pretty sore, it was after all only the second time I had sat on a bike in 20 years! I decided to head back which seemed much further than I had traveled but anyway made it but very sore. Won’t be volunteering to do that again anytime soon, maybe need a new seat!

The afternoon job was a visit to Bunbury to see the osteo, I thought maybe a shouldn’t mention my 30+ km bike ride previous as I wasn’t sure she would approve! All was good though, the osteo was her usual lovely self and her receptionist gorgeous also.

We were having friends round for dinner, well to be more exact, my friends, Denise met Gary very briefly in 2013 but has never met Ali, we had the best evening, lots and lots of laughter, great stories and they will be great friends of us both now.

So it’s the first of May today, the month of my surgery has arrived but there are seemingly endless jobs to do before we go and first on the list is a visit to my GP to deal with the endless list of requirements from Philadelphia, blood tests, ECG, urine analysis, swabs, a physical examination and lots of forms to fill in. For the second time, I visited the GP ‘s fully Steph’d, one of my favourite dresses, shoes to match and felt good.

My GP was her usual lovely self, didn’t complain about the long list of requests just commented about it being very American, we soon got through her part of the list, had the physical examination and the forms signed, next was the ECG, I’ve never had one before but it was pain free and the lady doing it was friendly. I paid my dues and left for home.

the next job on the list was the bank, I had made the appointment last week, dressed fairly ambiguous but was a little surprised when the girl who took my name so the person I wanted to see could call me asked me if it was Robin with an I or a Y but I thought she was just being accurate and I thanked her and left. Laura then called me and made the appointment for today, now I have known Laura for 10 years or so but haven’t seen her for probably a year but was looking forward to telling her my story. When I arrived her previous client was just leaving, another good friend of mine, so she called me straight in, we exchanged pleasantries and I told her I had a story to tell her, she listened carefully and at the end said she was so happy for me and honoured that I had wanted to tell her, we got mostly through the business part of the appointment, she gave me a big hug and I left feeling very happy that it had gone well and had the knowledge that when I need help with the name change stuff she will be there to help me.

The other job for the day was to do the shopping and visit the cycle shop to get a helmet for Denise so we can use our cycles, this we did and after fitting a new bell we decided to give them a run. Now I haven’t ridden a bicycle in earnest for 20 years so was a little rusty to say the least but as they say “it’s like riding a bike, you never forget” and it all went well, we visited some friends, ended up being asked back for dinner and that was the end of the the day.

Today it’s just 4 weeks to the day we leave for Philadelphia, it’s starting to become very real and we are both now focused on doing everything we need to before we leave, preferably with one week to go so we can at least relax!

The Amarok was going for its 15k service today, an expensive affair but we love the car and it’s much better on fuel than the Navara so the fact that it is a little more expensive to service is not a big problem. I had also arranged an appointment with my speech therapist, she was really pleased with my progress, and said she thought I was 75% there with my pitch and vocabulary which is pleasing. My back is still not good so I also made an appointment with the osteopath, she is a wonderful person and played a part in me being where I am today as it was she who introduced me to my GP and without her I probably wouldn’t have obtained my health records from the uk which started the ball rolling in 2015.

The next job was doing the weekly shop at Coles, I was going to go home first but thought there was no point so went straight from Bunbury, I enjoy doing the shopping and even more so as Stephanie but yet again I didn’t see anyone I know, it has to happen soon! It’s probably a good thing actually as I am building up my confidence so am better equipped to handle a situation should one arise.