Waking up to a new reality

Check-up

Wednesday morning came quickly and Erin was up early, but wasn't sure what to wear. Not sure if she was ready for the outside world to see her as a girl yet, she pulled on a loose tee-shirt, 'Eric jeans' and put her hair in a low boyish ponytail. As she went downstairs she realised just how uncomfortable the Ill fitting jeans were and turned quickly round and headed back to the bedroom. Changing into a pair of Lauren's jeans, not as close fitting as the one's she wore at Christmas but definitely girl's jeans, she looked in the mirror and thought that she was somewhat androgynous but definitely with a degree of femininity – the flat crotch small waist and wide hips, and  noticable chest bumps ensured that. With that thought in her head, she re-did her hair into a high ponytail and thought it really was time to just be who she had become.

Downstairs and into the kitchen she went. Mum looked round and said, "Poached egg on toast?"

Erin: "That sounds good – we've not had poached eggs for ages."

Mum: "You do the toast and I'll do the eggs."

Erin: "Done."

The smell of the toast soon got Lauren down and into the kitchen. As they ate breakfast Lauren asked, "When are you leaving for the hospital?"

Mum: "We'll need to leave about quarter past nine, so that we're not rushed."

Before they knew it, it was time to leave. Mum and Erin departed, leaving Lauren to get things ready for the girls arriving for the sleepover.

Mum found a space in the hospital carpark and they followed the signs through the maze of corridors to the Urology Department, where the signed in for their appointment with Mr Lamb. As they waited, they felt quite conspicuous - the only females in a crowded waiting room of mostly elderly men.

Spot on time they heard, "Eric Nicholson please." As Erin and mum stood up and walked across the room to the door, they saw some confused looking faces round the room. That put a little smile on Erin's face.

Mr Lamb greeted them and led them into the consulting room. After asking how things were healing he dispatched Erin behind the screen to remove her jeans and pants, and to lie on the examination table. Once Erin was ready, Mr Lamb examined her crotch. Gently prodding and poking her scars he pronounced, "Everything is healing even better than I had hoped for. The swelling and bruising is minimal too, so you can stop wearing the compression pants – they've done their job. That should allow you to be a bit more comfortable. How are you finding the peeing? Any problems?

Erin: "No problem, it's not that different really - other than having to sit down!"

Mr Lamb: "That's encouraging. Everything is good from my perspective. You can get dressed again."

While Erin got dressed, Mr Lamb told mum how pleased he was with the progress and that as long as there were no complications, then there should be no need for further visits.

This was the best news that they could have got and after thanking Mr Lamb they made their way to the coffeeshop to wait for the appointment with Eliza.

Their drinks had barely cooled enough to drink when mum looked at the clock and said, "We need to watch our time."

They drunk up and navigated their way to the Psychology Department where they signed in at reception. After taking seats, it wasn't long before Erin's name being called. Learning from the Urology experience they had notified reception of the name change and they could clearly see ERIN on a post-it note on the file that Eliza was carrying.

Eliza, as ever, started by getting Erin at her ease, as she started delving into Erin's thoughts.

But she really needn't have bothered as Erin was comfortable with her, especially since she had told her about her own experiences. She started by saying that her main worry was still about telling friends about what had happened, and of course, how they may react. She thought that today was a watershed in that it was the first time out of the house dressed as a girl, although she conceded that she had worn the baggy tee-shirt to not be too girly.