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View Full Version : Outed myself at the hospital.



Annie D
06-01-2008, 10:02 PM
I have waited a couple of days before posting, not knowing exactly where this should go.
I have had hip replacement surgery scheduled for over a month and had quite some time to decide whether I would go public with my crossdressing while in the hospital or if to undergo the procedure as totally male with no indication of being a crossdresser. Well, there would be some indication as I have some lovely feminine tattoos; a couple of "tramp stamps"; some lovely butterflies, one on each hip and one in the center of my lower stomach and two brown silver dollar sized circles around my nipples. When I decide to make a committment, I go all the way. Believe me, I am in an ultra conservative profession and all my tattoos are never to be seen by my children nor my work associates.

Based upon what I have just told you, I decided that I would not hide the fact that I am a crossdresser but that I would not enter the hospital enfemme. On the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend, I made a appointment to get a pedicure and have some new bright and pretty nail polish, had my arms and chest waxed and in the afternoon I laid out in my two piece to further enhance my already noticeable tan lines. My wife was aware of my decision and was pretty cool with my decision. I asked if she was prepared for me to be outed and she indicated that she was okay and just wanted the surgery to be successful.

On Monday night (Memorial Day) I said good night to our two teenagers, had a restless night and got up and got ready to arrive at the hospital at the designated check in time of 5:15 am. I wore some basketball shorts and a pullover shirt plus the regular feminine underwear. Upon my arrival, my wife and I were taken to a small room and I was told to take off all my clothes and put on the hospital gown. I left my socks on..........to keep my feet warm LOL and waited for whatever came next. A male nurse then entered with some special hospital socks (2), one spandex to prevent clotting and another to keep me from slipping on the floor. He removed my socks and a surprised "Oh my!" was uttered. That was the extent of any comments that he made. I was transferred to a gurney, I kissed my wife and was on my way to the operating room. Once inside, there was alot of activity, the nurses sat me up and opened the back of my gown to give me a spinal and the last thing I heard was "my, you have some beautiful artwork!"

I woke up in my hospital room before noon feeling okay but slightly nauseous from the spinal and I noticed that there were several stickies all over my arms and chest where the monitors were attached. Therefore I had to assume that everything that I have previously described had been seen. Through the remainder of the day, several doctors and nurses came in to visit and do their job and check on my well being.

I have to say, even though I have not been in a hospital in decades as a patient, I don't think that I could have been better treated by everyone that I came in contact with whether I was a known crossdresser or a "normal" person.

I wanted to share this experience with all of you to somewhat give you more confidence and becoming braver in who you are.

By the way, I had an Anterior Hip Replacement, walked the afternoon of the surgery and was discharged less than 30 hours after the operation. I am walking with the help of a cane and should be driving again within the next couple of days.

IMkrystal
06-01-2008, 10:48 PM
In todays world if any doctor, nurse, or other employee makes any derogatory remark or joke, they would be in violation of the Government's HIPPA LAWS! If they did not lose their job they would be punished because it opens the hospital to a possible lawsuit.:eek:

susie evans
06-01-2008, 11:24 PM
ANNE

i wish you a speedy recovery my wife had a new left hip put in , in january as has doing fine then fell and cracked her tail bone a month ago but is doing well now

:hugs: susie

sterling12
06-02-2008, 12:07 AM
And you were surprised? You fall into the "Seen that all before category." I'm even surprised that an "Oh my," escaped somebody's lips. Bet that nurse was really kicking himself for dropping his professional facade.

Was something mentioned at lunchtime...possibly? No names, but probably as a little aside, "hey, should have seen the tats on this guy we did surgery on." And, perhaps not even that was mentioned. A lot of medical personnel pride themselves on their professionalism and being unshockable. Plus we must always insure patient confidentiality.

I think I understand some of your motivations, "If something goes wrong today, I will have gone out as my true femme self." But, no one should be surprised that they get discretion and total tolerance in a medical setting. It should be the norm!

"We aren't in that Hospital to pass judgment on people, we are there to be professionals and save lives." You have the right to EXPECT that from us! Glad to hear you had a good outcome.

Peace and Love, Joanie

happygirl
06-02-2008, 01:08 AM
That's what I feel for you and my prayers too. You rock and you are one of our hero's now. All my best to you and your family.

Sedona
06-02-2008, 08:21 AM
Good story, and I would expect nothing but professionalism from medical staff. I recall going in for unexpected physical therapy a couple of years ago for a bad back. I had been waxed, and had nail polish on. The therapist said hello, chatted about the day's events, and said goodbye after I was done. I'm sure she'd seen it all before, so no worries.

Best of luck with the hip replacement!

JoAnnDallas
06-02-2008, 08:28 AM
Who knows the "Oh MY" comment may have been that the male nurse just decovered someone else that was like him, a CDer. LOL
I work in the HealthCare Profession as a Sr. Software Engineer. Many of the programs we code do deal with and/or access Patient Data, so all of our software has to be HIPPA Complient. Which means only certain people who have the need to know have access to your data.
As for Doctors, Nurses, and ect, I am a licensed Paramedic and from that point of view, we HAVE seen it all and nothing really surpises us. When I had to do my feild training, I remember a couple of times coming face-to-face with someone injured and having to decide at first is this a male or female. It does make a difference in the treatment. As we treat the person and then learn the person is of the opposite sex we thought they were, then we have to switch our treatment accordinly.

Jamie001
06-02-2008, 09:38 AM
JoAnn,

How does it make a difference in the treatment? I don't understand unless the person is pregnant or has an injury to the genitals.

Regards,

Jamie :hugs:



Who knows the "Oh MY" comment may have been that the male nurse just decovered someone else that was like him, a CDer. LOL
I work in the HealthCare Profession as a Sr. Software Engineer. Many of the programs we code do deal with and/or access Patient Data, so all of our software has to be HIPPA Complient. Which means only certain people who have the need to know have access to your data.
As for Doctors, Nurses, and ect, I am a licensed Paramedic and from that point of view, we HAVE seen it all and nothing really surpises us. When I had to do my feild training, I remember a couple of times coming face-to-face with someone injured and having to decide at first is this a male or female. It does make a difference in the treatment. As we treat the person and then learn the person is of the opposite sex we thought they were, then we have to switch our treatment accordinly.

JoAnnDallas
06-02-2008, 12:33 PM
Jamie001......Basicly it is how we treat the patient when it comes to what is or is not covered, how we touch the patient, making sure we don't touch unapproiate, and etc. Last thing a EMT wants is for someone to accuse us of sexual abuse and ect.

Eample...say we came up to an auto accident and the patient was dressed from head to foot as a female. So we start treatment using established protocols because the patient is female. Then we discover that the patient is a CD. Now it's a different ballgame. Your protocol changes since this is a male not a female. HIPPA applys differently to males and females.

SAMANTHA_IN_MT
06-02-2008, 03:58 PM
"Eample...say we came up to an auto accident and the patient was dressed from head to foot as a female. So we start treatment using established protocols because the patient is female. Then we discover that the patient is a CD. Now it's a different ballgame. Your protocol changes since this is a male not a female. HIPPA applys differently to males and females."

so how is protocal different for men then women I call bs on that. I have been a practicing EMT for 10 years and they way I treat a man or woman or 3rd gender does not change they get my full attention, I maintain there privacy totally, the only female vs male protocal im aware of is in the case of rape or sexual trauma where the same gender EMT examines the pt. Now im sure there are some small differences in protocalls from Tx to Mt but I think Tx is a national registry state.

anyway it is very nice to hear that there more medical professionals out there that respect there craft enough to not be offended or juvinile enough to make any remarks. Glad to hear your healing well.

Nikki A.
06-02-2008, 06:10 PM
Good luck on the surgery. I had my hip replaced almost 3 yrs ago and it was fantastic. Do your exercises and you'll be almost back in notime. I was back to work in a month although it took a bit longer to be 100%