boyhood ho!
I was in a really good mood today! Lukas (from Vancouver Coastal Health) gave me a call and told me that I do not actually have to spend a million years and a million dollars in order to get testosterone, which toootally made my day. I actually bounced around a bit on the phone.

To anyone who has played Ocarina of Time (which is probably all of you XD), you know that ridiculously long quest you can go on to get that sword that breaks pretty much instantly? The one where you gotta bring the ingredients to the doctor who makes a potion you gotta take to someone else or something? Evidently I haven't played the game in a while, but so far this whole transition process has really felt like that. I mean, just look at my progress thus far:

1) Appointment with Dr. Lawson to request hormones --> told to contact Joshua Goldberg at VCH and ask about age limits with hormones, got sent for bloodwork
2) Got bloodwork done --> later found out that my testosterone levels are naturally high
3) Sent an email to VCH --> got no response
4) Mentioned Joshua Goldberg on ftm --> found out that he no longer worked there and was told to contact Lukas Walther instead
5) Emailed Lukas --> was given a list of groups and told to attend a Thursday Trans Drop-In group
6) Attended Drop-In --> met Lukas, Eric and some MTFs, was given information on FTM Etc. group and the Trans Youth Drop-In group at Britannia
7) Attended Trans Youth Drop-In --> met a few more FTMs and one more MTF, ate sandwiches
8) Took a mental break --> accidentally missed several FTM Etc. group meetings
9) Emailed Lukas to specifically ask about my age --> told that my age is fine, but that I should contact Dr. Melady Preece about her group and hormone readiness assessment in order to meet endocrinologist Dr. Daniel Metzger
10) Appointment with Dr. Lawson --> confirmed that I should contact Dr. Preece
11) Got a call from Lukas --> found out that Dr. Metzger will see me with just a letter from Dr. Lawson, as long as I see Dr. Preece for some form of therapy later

And now, I have to:
-book another appointment with Dr. Lawson to ask her for a letter
-contact Dr. Metzger REALLY SOON to book an appointment (it only takes one or two appointments to get put in his system, but it's tough to track him down because he's a specialist)
-contact Dr. Preece LATER to ask about her group for trans youth and her hormone readiness assessment (each group meeting is $20 and each therapy session is around $100, so I won't rush into that instantly)

Although I don't technically need Dr. Preece's hormone readiness assessment to get my hormones from Dr. Metzger, she also does the surgery readiness assessment, so once I'm ready for that in a few years, it'll save me some time in therapy then if she already knows me. Plus, she's basically THE person to diagnose trans youth with Gender Identity Disorder and write them the letter and the whole shebang, so I'll probably want a letter from her to get my documents changed and all that jazz.

If I get my act together, I might be a boy by Christmas!