Happy rezday!

Three years ago today, I created Veronique, my Second Life avatar. Today, I was assessed by two psychiatrists who work for the Medical Services Plan of British Columbia, who said at the end of the session that they would support my application for funding for surgery. Woo hoo! It wasn't a heinous experience. In fact, it was just fine. I had to go over my history, both general and gender-related, as well as some medical stuff. They asked questions, but there was no grilling.

I was much relieved when they gave me their blessing. I wasn't really nervous, but my story is a bit outside the norm. Or so I thought. They said they've heard other stories like it. Nice to know I'm different but not a fluke of the universe!

It's appropriate that I had this assessment on my "rezday," the day I started in SL. A lot of things in my life contributed to bringing my gender issues to the fore, but none more than my little virtual female life. SL let me live what had been only a fantasy up to then. It made my fantasy almost real. It let me meet all kinds of trans people and learn from them, from which I went to the web to learn more. And it was so compelling that it left me with a choice between game addiction and fixing my real life. I made the right choice.

So once the psychiatrists write the letter and send it to MSP, I will wait for a letter to come back that says funding has been approved. According to my assessors, that's likely to take two to three months.

Meanwhile, my own therapist wrote a supporting letter and faxed it to the Centre Métropolitain de Chirurgie Plastique. The woman I've been speaking with indicated that with such a letter, they could give me a firm date for surgery, even before MSP approves funding. What she neglected to mention was that only one person arranges the schedule, and she is on holidays until August 10. If it isn't one thing, it's another! Do you think I might have an Outlook task set to fire off at 6 a.m. on the 10th? Oh yeah.