I read it all again... and I will grant that you used less definitive statements in the story, than in your comment here. I concede that Marty might actually *believe* that s/he can't speak -- although I still dispute that in fact Marty *could* whisper, if s/he was strongly motivated enough. And in fact you had him do precisely that, in chapter 4... although you had another character immediately shush him.

Quote: <<"I'm a boy," I siad in a squeaky whisper, not caring that I wasn't supposed to talk. It hurt and I touched the bandages on my throat.>>

Which brings me back to wondering why he isn't trying harder to communicate, since he *has* managed to whisper -- even if it did hurt?

I have absolutely no doubt that "most" of the literature agrees 100% with what you think is the case... and unless *extremely* motivated to break the "doctor recommended" post operative recovery advice, I would not be surprised if your friends accounts match that literature. As I said, if *does* hurt to talk that soon after surgery, so unless you really have a reason to do so, I am not surprised to hear that your friends (and probably most patients) never even try -- or if they absentmindedly try, feel the pain and stop immediately.

My own experience, however, involved a post operative complication that forced me to push through the pain, and speak anyway. Which in fact I was able to do, although I will grant you that it *really* hurt. By the way... although I said "most" of the literature earlier, I used that qualifier for a reason. If you try a web search for something like for the specific name of some of the surgeries, and throw in the word "recovery"... then do a little digging to select links to actual surgeon's sites... you will find that *some* of the surgeon's web site's flatly insist on no speech (including whispering) for a couple weeks... while other surgeon's sites state that you *can* whisper, and should merely refrain from speech for a week or so. The later case matches my experience... and being a medical professional myself, I am quite familiar with such discrepancies in doctor's advice. Obviously, it *is* possible... but not advisable. To get the best possible result, following the "more conservative" set of rules is recommended... but... my point was that Marty *could* do it, if Marty did not care about getting the best result, and just knew that something seriously wrong was happening. Something that he *really* needed to tell someone about.

As I said, though, in the story you did not make any absolute statements about his inability to speak -- just that he felt pain when trying, and that he was told not to do it. As a teenager... maybe it is possible he bought that official story hook, line, and sinker, and did not even try hard enough to push past the pain. Maybe he forgot about his earlier partial success, and just remembered the pain. I was mostly inspired to comment the first time, because you made a stronger statement in your own comment -- and I have noticed that ideas presented in one story here, tend to get recycled into someone else's work... so I thought all this worth mentioning.

I *do* have other concerns about this story's details, where things are breaking my ability to suspend my disbelief... but I don't want to discourage you from writing more, by posting a long article about all the medical flaws I can see in this thing. Smile. Probably most people are not bothered by them, as unless you are in the medical field (as I am), they might not be as glaringly obvious as they are to me...

I will make one comment about one thing, though, since while you have made strong hints in the story... you are not (yet) fully committed to this detail. The butt implants. Don't go there, please. I have also had BFS (Body Feminizing Surgery), and while at first I considered those implants... there are a whole lot of reasons why I did not do it. Fat graft transplants are a *much* better way of dealing with this issue... and while the highest priced surgeon's use a technique that involves weeks of laying on the stomach while things heal (not practical, in your story), there are alternate techniques without those restrictions -- which still could be worked into your story, easily, since so far Marty only vaguely knows that something was done to his butt. [The alternate technique injects the transplanted fat through canulas inserted through small incisions in the buttocks, by the way... which would still explain the bandages Marty has already noticed. (Which he *assumes* has something to do with butt implants that he "thought he had read somewhere about"... but no one has *yet* actually told him that this is actually what was done). You might want to throw in a reference (soon) to some abdominal bruising and an abdominal compression garment, from the liposuction to harvest the transplanted fat... but nothing you have written so far would need revision to do that. He *has* felt abdominal pain when sitting up, and while you probably intended that to be from the SRS, it also works for this procedure too. Plus the feminizing liposuction also gives a narrower waist, and a more "curvy" body than just the implants alone would... which I think would be useful, for where I imagine you are going with all this...]

Sigh. Don't mind me. I suppose rather than stating I am in the medical field... which I sort of still am... I should say I "used to be". These days, I mostly work with school kids, and teaching becomes such a habit that I tend to do it even when talking with adults -- who usually find my automatically correcting them more annoying than helpful. LOL. Part of why I usually limit myself to just reading here, rather than commenting.

Why ruin a perfectly good fictional story, by insisting on something as boring as the facts? Smile.