We had to be at the hospital at 6 AM. Surgery was at 8 AM, but there were preliminary exams and a lot of paperwork. No hospital personnel seemed to view my procedure as unusual, but I was sure there was a lot of talk behind the scenes. I was fine with that as long as I didn’t hear it. The anesthesiologist came in and introduced himself, as did the doctor. Finally, they wheeled me to the operating room. They had me move myself from the bed to the cold, hard operating table without offering any help. I figured there must have been a lawsuit at some time about helping the patient. Someone probably sued saying, “I didn’t even want an operation, but they forcibly put me on the operating table!” Lawyers can be very creative when they see dollar signs.

A nurse held a mask attached to a tube near my face and said, “Now, count backward from 10.” A challenge! Of course, I can get to zero before I pass out! 10 … 9 ….

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“Can you tell me your name?”

“Yes, why. Is something wrong? No operation?”

“Can you tell me your name?”

With my best Spanish accent, I said, “I am Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

The nurse was puzzled, so I smiled and said, “Sorry, it’s a line from a movie. My name is Tracy Brooks. My birthday is August 13th. I like music, art, and computers. I don’t care much for sports, except for volleyball. I’m an only child, but my cousin, Lisa, is like a sister to me. The thing I wish for most is world peace. I also….”

“OK. That’s enough … please. We just need to make sure you’re awake.”

“The operation was canceled?”

“Oh no, it’s done. You’ve been under for hours.”

“Oh. I guess that explains the pain down there.” I cut my eyes down toward my lower body.

“Yes, but we’ll do our best to make sure you don’t have too much pain. You’re in recovery, but we will put you in a room in just a few minutes. The doctor will come there and talk to you and your mom.”

After a bit, they wheeled me into the hallway where my mom was waiting. “You did good, Honey,” she said as she followed me to my room.

“Well, that’s the easiest ‘good doing’ I ever did. I slept right through it.”

When I got to my room, a nurse got all the tubes and instruments set up. Then, the doctor came in and motioned for her to leave, which she did.

“The procedure went perfectly. She will have some pain, which is to be expected. I will call in prescriptions for pain and an antibiotic. Also, I want to keep her overnight as a precaution. Barring any problems, she can go home first thing in the morning. Do y’all have any questions?”

My mom and I indicated that we had no questions and the doctor left.

“Well, honey, it’s just a matter of waiting. You can watch some daytime TV, but I brought your Kindle.”

“Oh, wow. Thanks, mom. I can’t stand ‘The Price is Right’ or ‘General Hospital’! Can I get up if I have to go pee?”

“No. Just let it go.”

“What? I can’t do that!”

“Sure you can. Matter of fact, you won’t be able to stop it. You have a catheter.”

“Oh … for how long?”

“We’ll take it out a few days after you get home.”

“Good. If I wear a pretty skirt, the bag full of pee wrapped around my leg would ruin the look. Maybe if I wore a brown skirt! You know, brown and yellow?”

“Very attractive.”

“I’m kinda sleepy, mom.”

“Probably after effects of the anesthesia. Go ahead and take a nap. I’ll go get some coffee.”

The rest of the day was uneventful. Aunt Katy and Lisa visited, which helped pass the time. Next morning, I was more than ready to leave.

When I got home, I was even glad to have schoolwork to do.

After a few days, my bandages came off and I was ready to see my new … self. What I saw was a lot of redness and swelling. Mom took out the catheter and urinating was a bit of a chore, and my mom kept a supply of baby wipes in the bathroom and warned me that I had to keep myself clean to avoid bladder infections. She made a point of telling me that females were more susceptible to bladder infections and how extremely uncomfortable they could be. Lisa stayed with me a lot, which I appreciated very much. When I was able to get around pretty good, I was ready to go shopping for clothes. I also really needed shoes, because my mom’s shoes were a little large. I didn’t say anything about that to her, though.

Dad moved to his new job and we hired movers to move everything except bare necessities, both from our house and Aunt Katy’s. The school year was soon to end, and we would be on our way.

I was embarking upon my new life in a new school in a new city. It would be different … different in just about every way imaginable.

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My surgery wounds healed pretty quickly. Everything seemed to be going great. One morning, I woke up with a little stomach cramp. “No big deal”, I thought. I went to the restroom as soon as I got out of bed. I pulled down my panties and sat. My panties fell down my legs and made a “splat” when they hit the floor. I looked down at blood-soaked panties and blood splatters on the floor in a 3-foot radius from them. I stared for a few seconds and started to cry. “Mom!” I yelled between sobs.

After I cried and called for my mom for what seemed like an eternity, she opened the door and saw the blood. “Oh, dear!”

Still sobbing, I said, “Mom, I HATE being a girl, IHATE it!”

“No you don’t, Honey. Just calm down. Hold on, I’ll get you a tampon.” She went to her restroom and brought a tampon back. “Can you put it in, or do you want me to?”

Still sniffling, I said, “I don’t want you to have to. I’ll try my best.”

She took the outer paper off the tampon. “Push it in until the two outer sections are even, then pull out the casing.”

“Yes, mom, thanks. Where does it go?”

“You’re joking!”

“Of course.”

“OK. There will be a string left hanging. Don’t pull it. It’s for taking the tampon out later.”

“Got it, but … what if it goes up in there and gets lost?”

“Out of the billions of tampons used by billions of women, I’ve never heard of that happening. Scratch that off your list of things to worry about. I’m sure you have plenty left on that list.”

“OK, Mom. Will it hurt?”

“If it hurts, your surgery might not be completely healed. If that’s the case, we’ll have to get you a pad.”

“Piece of cake.”

“Sure, enjoy your cake. Yell if you have a problem.”

She left me alone in my bathroom and I locked the door. I felt myself down below. I thought to myself, “Wow, this is strange!” I found the place and pushed the tampon in. It went in surprisingly easy. For some reason, I wrapped the outer part in toilet paper before putting it in the trash. I guess it was so no one would know. Big deal, my mom would probably empty the trash and she already knew. I saw the string. “Don’t you disappear on me! I’ll need you later.” I took a quick shower and got dressed. I was wearing skirts anyway, and there was no way I would wear jeans today. I could just see myself with a big red spot in the crotch of my jeans.

I went back to the kitchen. “All done, mom.”

“Good, Honey. It’s not as bad as it might seem right now.”

“Can’t be!”

“Are you cramping?”

“Yes, a little.”

“Eat some breakfast and go back to bed.”

“I’m really not hungry. I’ll just go back to bed.”

“OK, Honey.”

I went and got in my bed and started thinking about “firsts”. This was a “first”. I hoped it was the worst one. My mom brought me some Midol … another “first”.

As I swallowed the pill, my mom commented, “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be doing this with you. Still, I’m happy to have a daughter.”

“Imagine how unreal this feels to me!”

“I’m sure it is! Rest now. I’ll come check you on after a while.”

I went back to sleep and slept another two hours. When I woke up, I went to the living room and found my mom reading. “Hi Mom.”

She looked up from her Kindle. “Hi, Honey. Feel better?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Feel like going shopping?”

“OK, for what?”

“Some clothes and some tampons of your own.”

“Don’t tell the store people they’re for me.”

“Like they would ask! Don’t be silly. OK, I’ll tell the cashier, ‘These are for me, not my daughter, here’.”

“No! It’s OK.”

“I keep forgetting how new all this is to you. Get dressed and we’ll go. We’ll be back before Lisa gets here with your schoolwork.”

So, shopping we went. We bought pads as well as tampons “just in case”. She talked me into at least trying on some jeans. I had to admit, they looked good on me. We bought two pair, but I told her I wouldn’t wear them during my period.
We got home just a few minutes before Lisa got there.

“Hey, babe! What’s new?”

“New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and my period.”

She was ignoring me until the last part of that sentence. “Really! How exciting!”

“Oh, yes … exciting”, I said with no enthusiasm.

“Yes, you’re a real woman. You can have babies and grandbabies and ….”

“Hold on! All that’s a very long way off … if ever!”

“OK, but just wait. The maternal instinct will kick in!”

“I would say ‘no’, but I shouldn’t be surprised by anything anymore.”

“One day, you’ll see a baby and something inside will say, ‘I want one!’ After that, nothing will do but a child of your own.”

“We’ll see. Right now, I just want to get through this period!”

“Don’t let anyone tell you, ‘It’s not all that bad’, because it is.”

“Even my Mom?”

“It’s her job to encourage you. It’s my job to help you transition. I don’t want to give you any over-optimistic ideas.”

“Oh, yeah, don’t try to make me feel good!”

“That’s not what I mean. I just mean a period is never any fun, no matter what! Would you believe there may be times in the future that you’re waiting for your period, and hoping it will start?”

“Lisa, you’ve said some crazy things in the past, but I think you just topped yourself!”

“Well, someday you might be thinking that you’re pregnant, and hoping your period will start so you know you’re not.”

“Wrong! That would mean I screwed some guy. Not gonna happen!”

“Never say ‘never’.”

“How about, ‘not in this lifetime’?” Oh, my mom and I went shopping today. I got some jeans, but not to wear until this curse is finished.”

“OK, you’re too cute in a dress or skirt and top to wear jeans, anyway.”

“Thanks. You have my schoolwork?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s why I came, isn’t it? It should take you about five minutes. Sometimes, I think they put us in ‘slow' classes by accident.”

“Yeah. I’ll bet next year will be different in private school.”

“I hope so.”

I suffered through my “curse” for another few days. I began to wonder what would happen if it never stopped. It was unlikely but, during that part of my life, logic took a back seat to worries and fears. My period ended, however, and I was so relieved! I vowed never to have another period. Again, not logical, but it was worth a try.

I was still waiting for the end of the school year. I was ready for a new town, new house, new friends and new teachers. Where I previously dreaded the move, I was ready for it since Lisa and Aunt Katy were coming, too. The whole family would be together in one house, just like God intended.

Next: The big move