It's a Girl... soon

[MJ]

well i finally got my settlement and I'm talking with a surgeon at long last will let you know how the progress is going. hope i get accepted. wish me luck
hugs

[SirTrey]

well i finally got my settlement and I'm talking with a surgeon at long last will let you know how the progress is going. hope i get accepted. wish me luck
hugs

Congrats and best wishes, MJ....Great way to start the New Year....with hope and a plan....:)

[gillian1968]

Congratulations, MJ, best of luck to you!

[Jessicaparkson]

Congrats and best of luck and well wishes to you! :love:

[wannabie]

OK, I've missed something.
give me details.

What happened? Settlements? Surgeon??!

[Jenna1561]

Congratulations MJ! I hope everthing turns out the way you'd like. Best wishes and let us know as soon as you find out something.


Jenna

[MJ]

OK, I've missed something.
give me details.

What happened? Settlements? Surgeon??!

lol OK well for the last year and a half i have been fighting for my disability and was turned down 3 times my case went before a judge who ruled in my favor. and it was back dated from June 06.

now after the paper work is done i got my back pay retro to June my Settlement came Friday.

so what to do with all that money why not give it to a srs surgeon i have my letters but no hope of getting the surgery now i have both. it has been a up hill struggle for years but now it's my turn.

so now i have been talking with a surgeon who will perform srs and Breast augmentation. in Thailand.

[gagirl1]

that's great news, MJ! hope everything continues to work out in your favor

[Zenith]

Hi MJ...looks like 2009 is going to be your year...yes? :hugs: But one question if I may, you have your settlement so why not look for SRS in the US/Canada/Europe? Best to you in all things...:)

[PretzelGirl]

Best of luck MJ. Good things come to those who wait, and it sounds like you did more than your share of that!

[Carole Cross]

Congrats MJ and good luck, I will be speaking to my GP soon. :love:

[SherriePall]

MJ -- Good for you. Finally, after all this time! Hope everything works out well for you as you continue your journey.

[RachelDenise]

Congratulations! Can't wait for the new you!

[Tomara]

Hi MJ

Congratulations on your settlement , and good luck on the new you.
Keep us up to date on your progress.

Tomara

[Ally K]

Congratulations, honey! I'm so happy for you!! *hugs*

[Sheila]

MJ hun you know both Debs and I are over the moon for you :hugs::hugs: &:love::love:

[Kaitlyn Michele]

MJ-

Congrats on getting some dough!!! Hope you blow it in all the right places!

michele

[GypsyKaren]

That's real good to hear, let me know if I can be of any help about Thailand or the surgery.

Karen Starlene :star:

[mylitta]

Good news for the new year- hope it all goes well!

[Sharon]

I already posted this to you somewhere else, MJ, but I'll repeat myself here:


CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!


:hugs: :hugs:

[Sandra]

MJ

I'm so pleased for you :hugs:

[wannabie]

best of luck!:battingeyelashes:

[jennylw2]

Congratulations MJ! That's fantastic. Do be careful in Thailand tho dear.
-Jenny :love:

[Edyta_C]

Wow!! That's so great MJ. I am so happy for you. I have ready so many good things about several surgeons in Thailand. One or two do a really great SRS job. And not only is it less $$, but great facilities. Please do be careful! We'll a;; be pulling for the best result for you.


hugs Edy

[tori-e]

Just curious but doesn't OHIP cover the cost of going to Montreal for GRS? Then you just have to pay for BA.

Terri

[MJ]

Just curious but doesn't OHIP cover the cost of going to Montreal for GRS? Then you just have to pay for BA.

Terri

Hi Terri

not in Ontario and when they ever do cover it there are thousands of girls a head of me.
and knowing the government they will change the rules and we all have to re qualify so the expenses won't bankrupt the system..

[Kimberley]

Ontario does now cover the cost of SRS BUT, and here's the big un... You have to to through the Gender Reassignment Program at CAMH. The problem with that is It is run by Blanchard and Zucker. So the reject rate is horrific obviously.

The Ontario govt only funds a limited number of procedures per year. So, you have to go on a waiting list after being referred there. (It is currently 2 years long). Then IF you are accepted you go through their program. IF you are recommended (one of the 10 each year) you go on another waiting list to get your funding. Our estimates here are that it could take someone up to 12 years to get funding for SRS.

Unfortunately, the government doesnt see the costs of keeping people on the social welfare system as being any sort of a problem. The cost of SRS (in Montreal) is approximately equal to the cost of keeping someone on the social system for 2 years. This includes welfare payments, subsidized housing, subsidized (limited) medical care plus any legal costs because s/he got busted for working in the sex trade just to survive. Then of course if there is ever any kind of Human rights challenge they also pick up the tab for that.

Anyone who thinks that to be a politician you have to have a high IQ is sadly mistaken... only a penchant for double talk about things you know nothing and be willing to be a sheep in the fold.

I have personally been part of a crusade to change things here. The politicians dont want to listen but we are actually making some very tiny inroads. It is a long and drawn out process this thing called Human Rights.

I pi**es me off that normally intelligent and empathetic people can be so stupid and uncaring.

End of rant.

:hugs:
Kimmie

[MarcieM]

so now i have been talking with a surgeon who will perform srs and Breast augmentation. in Thailand.

What's the going rate there now? about 4k?

[Kimberley]

Thai surgeons charge anywhere from about 6K to 18K (Suporn)

[Sharon]

Thai surgeons charge anywhere from about 6K to 18K (Suporn)

Which often covers the cost of room and board as you recover under supervision, but does not include airfare.

[Kimberley]

True. And if you go to Suporn you should probably apply for a visa. He likes to see his patients 28 days post op which will put your visit over the 30 day limit the Thai govt. allows. Additionally you should have support with you although it isnt a prerequisite but most girls do.

[tori-e]

Ontario does now cover the cost of SRS BUT, and here's the big un... You have to to through the Gender Reassignment Program at CAMH. The problem with that is It is run by Blanchard and Zucker. So the reject rate is horrific obviously.

The Ontario govt only funds a limited number of procedures per year. So, you have to go on a waiting list after being referred there. (It is currently 2 years long). Then IF you are accepted you go through their program. IF you are recommended (one of the 10 each year) you go on another waiting list to get your funding. Our estimates here are that it could take someone up to 12 years to get funding for SRS.

Unfortunately, the government doesnt see the costs of keeping people on the social welfare system as being any sort of a problem. The cost of SRS (in Montreal) is approximately equal to the cost of keeping someone on the social system for 2 years. This includes welfare payments, subsidized housing, subsidized (limited) medical care plus any legal costs because s/he got busted for working in the sex trade just to survive. Then of course if there is ever any kind of Human rights challenge they also pick up the tab for that.

Anyone who thinks that to be a politician you have to have a high IQ is sadly mistaken... only a penchant for double talk about things you know nothing and be willing to be a sheep in the fold.

I have personally been part of a crusade to change things here. The politicians dont want to listen but we are actually making some very tiny inroads. It is a long and drawn out process this thing called Human Rights.

I pi**es me off that normally intelligent and empathetic people can be so stupid and uncaring.

End of rant.

:hugs:
Kimmie



So much for (Canadian) universal health care huh? I live in BC. My 1 year RLE was up July 27 and I was in Montreal for surgery on October 20. This even with BC recently changing the RLE requirement from two years to one. The transprogram here has direct contacts with BCMSP and there are people there working with the community. While I was in Montreal there were five transmen. All but one was from Alberta. Apparently that province’s funding is great for transguys. Dr. Brassard told me that very few of his patients are from his own province, because Quebec does not pay for GRS. Just doesn’t make sense.

[Kimberley]

It is a bit of a Catch 22 actually. The Federal health guidelines recognize GID as a legitimate and therefore fundable "illness". However, they do not provide funding for surgical resources. Since healthcare administration is provincial domain, it then falls on the individual provinces to fund SRS or not. This is why changes in the DSM-V can have such a massive impact here. It is why Blanchard and Zucker are such dangerous people because the changes they propose are in their career best interests not to the benefit of people. I digress.

A lot of it comes down to Human Rights interpretation at the provincial level and more so, the individual healthcare administration's generosity. When the Harris government withdrew funding in 1998 it was challenged in the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal and we lost because of narrow legal interpretations. The Ontario Human Rights Commission then went to the Federal courts and lost again for the same reason.

In 2005 the Federal Courts ordered the province to pay for several SRS surgeries that had been approved prior to the 1998 withdrawal of funding. (Hogan).

In 2008 then Ontario Health Mnister George Smitherman reinstated funding but with the same archaic and discriminatory processes in place that existed prior to 1998 putting Blanchard and Zucker and Company back in the driver's seat in this province only with even more power due to a tightened number of fundable surgeries per year.

So in reality while the province does fund it, the restrictions are so tight as to make the funding little more than lip service by the Provincial Government.

We in Ontario are fighting to get this changed of course. As for Alberta, Premier Stelmach and Co. are looking at the Ontario model very closely with an eye toward changing their system to match ours. Not many in that province are aware of this.

Currently, BC has the best program in the country and even it has its flaws.

As I said before to be a politician is to be dumb, ignorant and self serving.

The real worry here in Canada is this. Many of those same people who were in the Ontario government of Mike Harris are now cabinet ministers or in senior portfolio positions in the Federal Government of Stephen Harper. Social Conservatism is very much alive and well.

It is a worrisome situation for the LGBT community, women's rights, aboriginal rights etc. Very worrisome; and with the economy being what it is, you can be sure that we will soon be under an artillery barrage of HR attacks.

:sad:
Kimmie

[MJ]

Just curious but doesn't OHIP cover the cost of going to Montreal for GRS? Then you just have to pay for BA.

Terri

I just found out out they do cover the cost as of June 6, 2008 so it's back to camh in Toronto i talked with then on the phone and got myself on the books i will find out more next week ..

Thank you Terri :love:

[Joan Merrie]

Congrats MJ, maybe 1 day it will be my turn.:hugs:

[tori-e]

I just found out out they do cover the cost as of June 6, 2008 so it's back to camh in Toronto i talked with then on the phone and got myself on the books i will find out more next week ..

Thank you Terri :love:

Fantastic news! I hope it all works out for you

Terri

[Jenna1561]

Wonderful news MJ! I know you're probably so excited.

Jen