butterfly
Jan 14th, 2004, 11:32 PM
I'd like to ask for your prayers for all British transsexuals following the news that Dr Russell Reid, the only consultant psychiatrist in the country who is sympathetic to our needs, has been summoned before the GMC due to complaints from several of his NHS counterparts led by Dr Richard Green, a man who I once had the misfortune to meet, I'll leave it at that.
If Uncle Russ, as many of us call him, is prevented from practising, people will die, and it's very probable that some of my friends will be among them. He has 5000 clients, of which I am one, and if forced down the NHS route, it's highly likely that a significant proportion will commit suicide.
I'm lucky, my femininity isn't as clear cut as many cases, and I think that with help, I could go back to living as a man for the rest of my life, which I'd rather do than have to face Green again. Most of us won't have that choice.
I know this thread might be a sensitive one for some of you but I really needed to post it. I haven't slept all night. I always worried what would happen if Uncle Russ retired or died, but I always thought someone else would come along by then to champion our cause. I hadn't bargained for this. I know someone who had her first appointment with him the day before yesterday. She'd spent the first 32 years of her life plucking up the courage to tell the world who she was and find a medical professional who was supportive, only to find he couldn't prescribe hormones.
I'm going to have to put my life on hold for now because I've suddenly lost control of a major part of my destiny, and I don't know how to cope.
If Uncle Russ, as many of us call him, is prevented from practising, people will die, and it's very probable that some of my friends will be among them. He has 5000 clients, of which I am one, and if forced down the NHS route, it's highly likely that a significant proportion will commit suicide.
I'm lucky, my femininity isn't as clear cut as many cases, and I think that with help, I could go back to living as a man for the rest of my life, which I'd rather do than have to face Green again. Most of us won't have that choice.
I know this thread might be a sensitive one for some of you but I really needed to post it. I haven't slept all night. I always worried what would happen if Uncle Russ retired or died, but I always thought someone else would come along by then to champion our cause. I hadn't bargained for this. I know someone who had her first appointment with him the day before yesterday. She'd spent the first 32 years of her life plucking up the courage to tell the world who she was and find a medical professional who was supportive, only to find he couldn't prescribe hormones.
I'm going to have to put my life on hold for now because I've suddenly lost control of a major part of my destiny, and I don't know how to cope.