Chapter 9

“But I ended up in hospital, mum! And…and Dr. Maggie had to bring in a nut doctor to see me! Dr. Karen is real nice, though” Drew mused.

“You and dad had to fly all the way over here to get me. I’m so happy you came, but if I hadn’t messed up, you wouldn’t have to be here. I feel really bad about making you have to fly mum.”

“Now petal” intoned Jenny “don’t worry. I was cleared to fly a few days ago, and I was going to be coming over anyways. Your dad and I were going to surprise the two of you.

The Team is doing a bit of a mini promotional tour here in America. George had already made arrangements for us to come. We just had to move them up a day or two, that’s all.”

Drew visibly sagged in relief. He had been worrying that he had cost his mum and dad a whole lot of money to come over to look after him. He had also been worrying about whether or not his mum was really okay to fly or not.

Drew sat there for a few more minutes, just soaking in the feelings of being reunited with his family and feeling safe with them there.

He was lightly jolted out of his reverie by his mum, when she asked “So Drew, the doctors gave us a brief rundown about what happened. Would you like to talk about it and tell us what you think?”

“Errmm……..I guess so, mum.”

“It’s like this mum. You know I’ve had to be Gaby the whole time I’ve been here, right?”

“Well, yes Drew, but I admit to being a bit puzzled as to why.”

“Ummm….. A bunch of reasons I guess, mum. The first was that Brit and Deb never told their ‘rents that Drew was a boy. The second was the Foresters….I couldn’t really be Drew during the day, and have Gaby show up only for cheer practice, could I? I mean, people would have guessed and been even more horrible than they have. They would have thought I was some kind of transvestite or something. The only people here who knew I was Drew, besides Jules and the gang, was Erin. Erin knew that Jenny Bond only had a son that was a cyclist, and his name was Drew.”

“And, I think Mad had a lot to do with this as well. ‘Member I had packed the night before we left? And Mad came over later? To make sure I had everything I needed? Well, when I got here, I found that all that was in my suitcase was Gaby clothes, so I couldn’t have been Drew even if I wanted to. I know I packed mostly my clothes, and just a bit of Gaby stuff for the cheer team events. And once I was here, it was easier than trying to explain it all and get a bunch of people in trouble. I really want to know why she did that. I mean, what’s so wrong with Drew?”

“Hmmm….’though it didn’t change the freak thing. I was just a different kind of freak.”

“Jules was the only one here looking out for me” Drew choked out. As he reached out and squeezed his sister’s hand, a tear trickled down his cheek.

Jules squeezed back, the tears evident in her eyes as well. She knew exactly what kind of hell Drew had lived through during the exchange. ”Those bloody AHS students, you included Britney, just couldn’t handle having a ‘girl’ who liked other girls in your midst, could you? God knows I’ve heard the same comments that Drew has, but what Drew doesn’t know is that Brit has been saying the same things. Sure, sure, maybe she was saying them simply to fit in with the in’ crowd, but she knew better and in some ways that makes her an even bigger hypocrite to my mind. And Mad, bloody cow, setting up Drew with Sam, just to be a bitch. Treating Drew like she used to in private, but in public being the same as the others. And she and Em putting Drew in danger of discovery just for ‘shits and giggles’”.

The more she thought about the whole experience, the more she wished they had never come. She had come to love Gaby like a sister, even though she knew it was Drew under there. And she felt terribly guilty about the times she had helped make him over into Gabs when he didn’t want to. And these days, just like Drew, she wasn’t always sure who was real and who wasn’t. Like the two were merging into one person.

Drew started to speak again.

“I guess it all got to be too much for me. I mean, I was always worried about being discovered. And what was worse, is sometimes I felt like some of the others were putting me in positions where I would get discovered. And that scared me even more. It was like they were purposely trying to make my life even worse. And these were my ‘friends’.”

“After the cheer competition, it kind of came to a head with Mad. She and Em were having a go at me, and I finally had enough. I had told Miss C that I would be there for the competition, but after we were done our final number I was done. I think she hoped I would change my mind, but she said she understood. Jules knows all about what happened there. But after that they treated me even worse. I guess I just kind of lost the plot mum. I couldn’t tell where Drew ended and Gaby began, anymore. And I wasn’t sure that it really mattered anymore.”

“Oh Drew” said Jenny, as she hugged her child closer to her “I wish I’d never insisted you two come on this trip! I am so sorry that it wasn’t the wonderful experience for you two that I hoped it would be.”

“But I do have to ask. Who is this ‘Em’ you keep referring to? You make it sound like we should know her from the gang at Warsop?”

“Oh……..right! Umm, well mum, Em is Mfanwy. Mfanwy Morgan. Aaahhh, you would have to talk to Sylv about all the details, but Em is Rhod.”

“Excuse me?! Em is Rhod? And she or he was giving you a hard time about being Gaby?! Oh, I will most definitely be having a talk with Sylv when we get home! And Carol and I will be having a few long talks as well. No matter why, Maddy’s behavior has totally unacceptable.”

“Oh mum! It’s all okay, really. Jules and I got to know each other a whole lot better, I got to cycle, and hopefully this weekend I get to race with Erin, Diane and the Grottoes team. And now that you and dad are here, you get to see me race! I do get to race don’t I mum?” Drew pleaded.

“Well, we’ll talk about that with the doctors, Drew. We have to see what they have to say first.” interjected Dave. Responding to Drew’s growing agitation, “But if they say all is a go, I don’t think your mother or I will object.”

“Brill! Thanks dad. Thanks mum.” Getting to race would be great. And having mom there for a change.

Jenny was wondering how to broach the subject of how Drew felt about being Gaby, and she was sure Dave was thinking the same. It would be nice to get some idea of how Drew felt before they paged the doctors. She silently sighed, thinking that no child should have to deal with this, let alone on her own. And given what the doctors had told them about how limited Drew’s options were, she wasn’t quite sure how Drew would take the news. Well she may as well just ask him straight out.

“Drew, how did you feel about being Gaby, and where did things start to get confused for you?”

Drew twisted his head around to look at his mum, and blushed.

“Ermmm, to be honest mum, it didn’t feel a whole lot different when I wasn’t thinking about it. When I was thinking about it, I guess I was more worried about getting discovered as Drew than I was of being Gaby. It was kind of weird. I mean, everyone took me as a girl except some of the gang when they were having at me. And Jules treated me like a sister, which was great; but when Drew wanted to talk she was always there for me too. For most of the time I tried to think about Drew and Gaby as two separate people, but as time went on, the dividing line seemed to get smaller and smaller until it seemed like there wasn’t any difference.”

Drew sighed. “I think that a lot of people see a girl when they look at me anyways, no matter if I’m Drew or Gaby. Talking to Dr. Maggie and Dr. Karen has helped a lot though. I was really hung up on whether I was Drew or Gaby and that’s really where I lost the plot. But they helped me to see that I was just me, and that the names didn’t matter. I guess it’s all about discovering who I am and taking it from there, girl or boy, I’m just me.”

“What do you and dad think I should do? I mean, do you think I should be a boy or a girl?”

Dave spoke up.

“Drew, we simply want you to be happy. And it is more important that you be true to yourself. It’s really about who you feel you are deep inside…..” Dave was struggling for the right words, not wanting to influence Drew either way. “Umm..Deep in your soul, I guess is the way I would put it. When you think about it, and ask yourself that question, what answer do you get? That answer, that knowledge is who you should be. And your mum, Jules and I will all support you. We will face this head on as a family.”

Drew looked at each of them, trying to read their faces. What he saw was love, unconditional love. That unwavering support and trust, that no matter what, they would always be there for him. Right there, right then, Drew felt like he could happily drown in the feeling of love he got from his family. Drew sat there, basking in their love and thinking. And in that moment, that moment that seemed to stretch on forever, Drew knew. It was that epiphanous moment when everything came into absolutely clear focus. And when Drew spoke, his family could tell something had changed.

“Mum, what do we do now? And what do we say to the doctors?”

“Well Drew; first I think we all sit down with the doctors and hear what they have to tell us, and then we talk about it from there. I think that we need to have all of the information we can before we decide how to proceed.”

“You’re right mum. Dr. Maggie was running all sorts of tests. So I guess it’s best to find out about them first.”

“Well Drew, if you want to start talking to them, we can call them in anytime. Just push the patient call button. They wanted to give us all some time together first, and said to press that to let them know when we were ready for them.”

“Not yet, mum. I want to talk to all of you some more first.”

Drew extricated himself from his mum’s lap, and started to walk around the room. He stopped, turned to speak, and stopped. And started walking around again. Jenny, Dave and Jules all sat quietly, waiting for Drew to begin. To Dave and Jenny at least, it appeared that Drew had made a decision, but was trying to figure out how to tell them all what it was.

“I’ve been trying to figure out who, or what I am. Or even if it’s Gaby or Drew that’s real. Like I said, it was when I couldn’t tell myself who was who that things got funny. But it wasn’t until I started talking with Dr. Karen that some things started to make sense. She was able to help me sort out a bunch of what I’d read about, and helped me understand what a lot of those things meant. Since I’ve been here at the hospital I’ve had a lot of time to think. And maybe I’ve sorted some out of this.”

Drew turned to his mother.

“Mum, what about cycling? I mean, would I still be able to cycle either way?”

“We’d have to find that out for sure, but it might also depend on what the doctors say. And we could certainly talk to Caro – you know she would do whatever she could to make sure you could still race.”

“You’re right, she would. I guess we need to hear what Dr. Maggie and Dr. Karen have to say, don’t we?”

He took a deep breath and continued, “It’s just…….well, if I’m developing like a girl, will I be able to compete with the guys? I mean will I be able to keep up to them and still be a good racer? A lot of them are already a lot bigger and stronger than I am. And if I was to be a girl, would I have to take a lot of drugs that wouldn’t allow me to compete?”

Pausing his pacing again, “‘Cuz I don’t want to give up biking mum. It’s one thing that I can do that brings me closer to you and I won’t give it up!”

Tears began to well up in Drew’s eyes as he thought of having to give up racing. It was like asking him not to breathe. Jen got off the bed and swept up Drew in a hug.

“Oh Drew, it will all work out. Like your dad said, we’ll face this together as a family. Whatever you decide we will do everything we can to make sure you can still live your dreams.”

She drew back a little, and cradling Drew’s face in her hands she looked him in the eye.

“What’s important here pet is you, and how you feel about Drew, and Gaby. It’s what you feel deep down inside. But you’re the only one that can decide that sweetheart. And you’re the only one who can tell us how you feel.”

Drew and Jenny slowly sank down to the floor, Jenny still cradling her child’s face in her hands. And in her eyes, Drew saw himself. And he saw all that he was and could be. Her eyes were like the mirror to his soul. And he could see the love and pride and fear in Jenny’s eyes all warring for dominance. And deep inside Drew, that last bit of resistance and reserve began to crumble. All at once he fell limply into his mother’s arms and began to weep. Heartrending sobs tore from his throat as he broke down completely.

Jenny just held her son as he cried, and she cried with him. Crying for the innocence that was lost, her inability to protect her child, and she silently railed at a deity who would allow a child to feel this kind of pain.

Knowing what she and Dave knew, what the doctors had told them, she wondered if Drew could ever have a normal life. Whatever Drew would consider to be normal life, in any case.

Her mind wandered as she held her child tight to her, trying to hug away the hurt and make him feel better. Drew clung to her like a limpet mine to a ship’s hull. She wondered if she had been at home, instead of away racing, if she could have seen what was going on. She thought about what Dr. Macarthur had said when they had talked with her, about Drew being such a quiet and introspective child after he went to school. She thought about the woman Maggie had told them about and compared her to Drew; and she reflected on how life could be so brutally unfair to children. She was grateful in her own way that she had never had to face these challenges herself. And she was determined to do what it took to help her baby. No matter what.

“G-g-g-Gaby” Drew whispered, choking it out through his sobs.

“What was that sweetheart?” Jenny whispered soothingly in his ear.

“I…I need to be Gaby” she cried.

“Even if, even if I can’t ever bike again, mum. I need to be Gaby. I’m sorry mum! I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay petal, it’s okay. It will be all right, you’ll see.”

Jenny hugged Drew closer and rocked her child and whispered reassuring words to her new daughter. Looking over Drew’s shoulder at Dave, her own tears streaming down her cheeks she mouthed the name “Gaby” to her husband.

Dave and Jules came over and sat down on the floor with them. Dave hugging both his wife and Gaby; Jules taking one of Gaby’s hands in her own and gently rubbing it.

Dave was the first to speak, his voice rough with emotion and unshed tears.

“Thank you, for telling us how you feel and for being so brave. We are ALL so proud of you. That took a lot of courage.”

Gaby looked up at him, eyes rimmed red, and tears streaming down her cheeks. And in that moment, Dave saw – truly saw, his other daughter for the first time. There was an odd look of peace in her face, and a slight smile played across her lips. Dave reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face then allowed his hand to rest on her cheek.

“We love you, and always will. This doesn’t change how we feel and it never will. You are beautiful and precious, just like your sister. No matter where we go from here you always will be. And no one, not your cousin, or your friends or anyone else will ever take that away.”

“Oh, Da-ad!”

Gaby turned to her sister and said “Jules, can you stand having a sister instead of a brother?”

“I think I can get used to it Gabs. It seems I’ve had a bit of practice lately – haven’t I?”

Jules hugged her sister tight and whispered in her ear “And think of the shopping opportunities now, Gabs!”

Gaby laughed. “Only Jules!”

Gaby looked around her and gave thanks for such a wonderful family.

“Thanks Jules, I really needed that!”

She paused a minute, as if thinking, “Ummm, so what happens now mum? Dad?”

Jenny looked at her youngest. “Well sweetheart, I guess we talk to the doctors. We need see what they have to say. Then, we can chart a course from there. Okay?”

“Okay mum. Maybe they can help with some of this stuff.”

The four of them got up off the floor, Jenny guiding Gaby back to her bed and Dave and Jules taking their chairs again. Jenny climbed on the bed with Gaby and gently wrapped herself around her child, as if daring anyone to try and hurt her or come between the two of them.

“Petal, is Gaby the name you want? Or did you want to choose something else? I know that name just got dropped on you from the charity ride.”

“No mum, Gaby is fine. It’s the name I’ve gotten used to and the name everyone knows me as. Besides, Gaby is short for Gabrielle, right?”

“Yes dear, it is. Why?”

“Well then, it will be Gabrielle Drew Bond, Gaby for short. My names won’t change that much and then everyone who knew me as Drew or Gaby will just think they have been using one of my names.” Pausing to take a breath, she continued, “I’m not sure what we can do about cycling, though.” Gaby’s face started to drop.

“Now, now pet, let’s take that bridge when we come to it. Getting things sorted, here, with the doctors comes first. In fact, why don’t you push the call button and get them in here. Maybe after we’ve all talked, the four of us, can go out for a meal.” With a smile on her face, “When Mrs. Walters brought Jules over; your sister brought you a change of clothes.”

“Oh, that would be brill, mum! I’ll ring for them right away.”

“Um, Gaby dear; before you do, your dad and I want to talk about something else for a couple of minutes. Okay?”

“Sure mum. What is it?”

As soon as Jen had said that, Dave tensed up a little. While this wasn’t lost on Jen, thankfully neither of the kids had noticed it. Dave was quite sure what Jen wanted to talk about with Gaby about. It was time to come clean with Gaby about how long they had been there and why they waited this long. It wasn’t fair to put the blame solely on the doctors. After all, they were simply trying to help Gaby. And, Jen and Dave had agreed with them.

“Sweetheart, it has to do with you and being in the hospital. Umm, your dad and I got the call from Dr. MacArthur and Jules right after they brought you in to the hospital.”

“Ye-es?” Gaby answered with a question in her voice.

“Dr. MacArthur had given you a shot to relax and help you go to sleep. I asked her to give you enough to keep you asleep until we got here. She told me that she had given you enough sedative that you were likely to sleep for 12 or 14 hours, given how stressed your body had been.”

“But you just got here mum! And I’ve been awake since last night!”

At this point Dave took over the narrative. He was trying to read Gaby’s face and failing miserably, but pressed on regardless.

“Gaby, actually we did get here last evening while you were still asleep.”

“WHAT! Why didn’t you come and see me after I woke up!!???”

Jen hugged Gaby closer to her and softly whispered “Honey, when we got here we had to talk to the doctors first. While we were talking to them, they asked if they could have today to talk to you without you knowing we were here.”

“But WHY?!” Gaby cried plaintively.

“Can you tell me honestly that you would have told Dr. Maggie and Dr. Karen everything you’ve told them today if we had been in the room?”

Gaby blushed and a meek “No” came from her lips.

“So then wasn’t it better that they were able to talk to you and get everything out in the open? Wasn’t it better that you had a chance to understand a lot of things before we saw you today?”

“Well, yes mum. But….”

“I know petal, you missed us and wanted us here to help you. But, how does it feel to have helped yourself? Does it feel good to have worked through all of these things mostly on your own?”

“Yes, mum it does.”

Dave interjected “Your mum and I are very proud of the way you have handled all of this. It’s been our honor to see the very mature way you are trying to look at all of this. We know you’ve had a lot of help from the doctors, but we are so very proud of you.”

Gaby simply blushed.

“Your mum hasn’t said it yet, but we were never more than a room away. If something bad had happened we would have been here in a flash.”

Knowing they were close at hand mollified Gaby somewhat. At least they would have been there in an emergency. And besides, if her mum hadn’t been cleared for travel they might not be here even now.

“Now, child of mine, when we do ring for the doctors do you want your sister here when it is being discussed? Or would you prefer to discuss it as a family separately? This is your choice.”

Just then Jules chimed in “Gabs, if you want I will wait outside while they’re here and we can talk about it after.”

“No way would I leave you out of this. My big sis has been the only one looking out for me the whole time I’ve been here.” Gaby squeezed Jules’ hand gently. “No Jules, we’re going to do this together as a family. We’ll learn about all of this together and we’ll deal with it all together. No secrets.”

Jules smiled and blushed.

Jen felt a slight pang of pain at that remark. Keeping her medical condition a secret had almost cost her the love of her family. And here was her daughter, with every bit as life changing a medical condition making sure her entire family was a part of it. A flush of shame crossed her face as she thought about it. Never again, she vowed silently to herself. Never again would she hold things back from those she loved.

“All right then sweetheart, why don’t you, press the call button and we’ll get the doctors in here and get on with things.”

“‘Kay mum.”

Gaby wiggled herself off the bed and bent down to grab the fallen call button. Picking up the call button, she stopped and looked at it. Knowing that once she called the doctors in, life would never be the same again. Having been freed from her fear by telling her family and being accepted by them she was at a bit of a loss about what to do next. And she wondered what the future held for her.

What would happen when they got home to Warsop? Would the gang, and more particularly Maddy be able to accept this?

Cripes. What are all the kids at school going to be like? And what about the Head? And all the teachers? And Maddy? I know she seems to like ‘turning me into Gaby’ but what about when I’m Gaby for real? No! Stop that Gaby! One step at a time. Mum and dad and Jules said they would be with me. Let’s talk to the doctors and then see what happens. Press the button before you lose your nerve.

With that Gaby sat up straight and pressed the button.

Turning back to her family she looked and said “This is going to be really hard isn’t it?”

Dave decided to answer her before anyone else said anything.

“Yes it will be. Your mum and I will not lie to you. This is going to be very tough. None of us know how friends, family, school chums or anyone else will react to this. I think, and hope your mum feels the same, that most people will be just fine with this because they have seen Gaby a fair bit over the last while. You know your gran is fine seeing Gaby, and I suspect that there are others in your life that will have no problem at all. But if I’m being realistic Gabs, there will be some people that don’t like this and may reject you because of it. And you, WE, have to be prepared for that.”

“Some of the people closest to you may have ‘issues’ with this and may not want to associate with you, or call you names, or worse. I don’t think Warsop is like here by any stretch of the imagination, but you’ve had issues here simply by your sexual orientation. My dear child, reaction to gender orientation may not be any different. At least here. And it could easily be that way at home, as well. This is not something people are used to. To most people, there are girls and there are boys, and that’s all there is to it.”

“But we will be there to stand by you and help you through this”

“Now, let’s wait for the doctors and we can talk about it all after they’ve told us all everything. Oh, and Gaby, do you want to tell them your decision first or do you want to wait until they’ve had their say?”

“I think I’ll wait, dad, if you don’t mind.”

Karen and Maggie had been sitting at the table in the observation room, going over their notes and preparing to go and talk to the Bond family. They had been hashing out what they were going to cover and who would cover things, when a nurse entered the room. As they’d agreed, the window was darkened and the speakers off, to give the family privacy.

“Doctors? You asked to be informed when the call button was used next door? It just went off.”

“Thank you Piper, we’ll be right there.”

Maggie turned to Karen “I guess it’s time, let’s not keep them waiting. We’ll likely be a fair while explaining all of this and answering questions. Let’s hope that Drew takes the news well.”

“So true, oh so very true. I can only hope that this will come more as a pleasant surprise rather than a rude shock. That could easily send Drew catatonic again.”

“No time like the present I guess then. Let’s be about it, shall we?”

With that the two doctors gathered up their notes and headed over to Drew’s room.

As they entered, they both detected a sense of peace, but also anticipation.

Maggie cocked her head and looked over at Drew. He had a wistful little smile on his face, and you could see the tracks of the tears that had run down his face. He was wrapped up by his mother like a life size teddy bear. She too had been crying, but Maggie thought she saw a glint of hope in her eyes. Tilting her head a little more to take in Dave and Jules, she felt heartened by the fact that no one appeared dreadfully sad or depressed.

Pulling up chairs to make an intimate group, including the whole family, Maggie and Karen sat down.

“So Drew, glad to have everyone here now?” Maggie queried.

“Oh yes, Dr. Maggie! I’m so happy to have mum and dad here.” Drew snuggled into his mother’s arms some more. “But I wish I could have seen them last night” he quietly continued.

“Ah, I see your parents have told you that we asked for the day with you. Drew, we thought it the best way to help you, and to let you feel free to talk without having to worry about what you said.”

“I know Dr. Maggie, but still...”

“I understand Drew. Truly I do, but do you think you would have been so open and honest with your mum and dad in the room?”

“Errr ... mmmm ... probably not,” Drew admitted. “And I know I wouldn’t have gotten some of the answers to the questions I had, either.” He sighed then, “Mum and dad told me that you were only trying to do what was best for me. But I still wish they’d been with me last night.” Drew visibly pulled himself together, “I know you were taking a bunch of blood and x-rays and stuff. What did you find out, Dr. Maggie?”

“Ah, right to it then? Very well. Are you okay with everyone being here in the room when we discuss this?”

“Oh yes, Dr. Maggie. This is something that affects the whole family, so they should all be here when we talk about it.”

“Very well then. I will start, and Karen will pitch in about things as they come up.”

“As you indicated, I ran a large range of tests, after I read your medical files and had done a basic physical examination. I already knew you were on iron supplements, and from the physical examination I could see you were developing female secondary sexual characteristics.”

Drew blushed, recalling how Dr. Maggie had initially found that out.

“Initially, I ordered a series of blood tests, and that initial MRI. The blood tests were a basic genetic karyotyping, and checking the various hormonal levels in your blood.”

“What’s gene…genetic karyotyping Dr. Maggie?”

“When we take the blood and look at it in certain ways, we can determine the makeup of your genes and chromosomes. Those are the design and building blocks of the body. They are what make you who you are. We look to make sure you have the right number of chromosomes, and what type they are. Under normal conditions the body has 23 pairs of chromosomes or 46 in total. And there are two basic configurations for genetic male and genetic female. A standard genetic female would be 46 XX and a standard genetic male would be 46 XY.” She paused then, “Now do you remember when we talked about inter-sexed people?”

“Yes,” Drew looked a little nervous as he responded.

“Well, many times they have a different variant from the standard. Sometimes they are 46 XXY, XXXY, XXYY and others which, besides intersex issues, can lead to the discovery of other health issues.”

“Are mine like that, Dr. Maggie”

“No Drew, yours are standard. No extras.”

Drew breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good to know.”

“But, intersex issues do not only manifest through the genetic structures. Sometimes a child can be born genetically standard but have both or some of the tissues of the other physical sex present. Other times, there is a minor extra bit of tissue that can look like genitals.”

“When we did your test Drew, it came back standard, like I said. But it came back standard 46 XX. Which means you are genetically female.”

The whole family was stunned by this announcement. Dave and Jenny, who had heard it before, recovered first, and watched the delayed reactions of their daughters.

Karen began to speak. “Drew, this simply means that your body is genetically female. It doesn’t mean anything more than that. Who you are is not simply genetics. It is as much how you are wired as it is anything else.” She paused a moment, before continuing, “Who you are is not dependent on what your genetics are, or what your physical body shows. Please try to keep that firmly in mind. Out of all of this, our goal is to help you to become the person you are meant to be, no matter whom that is.”

Maggie was watching the family. While Drew and Jules were absolutely stunned by the news, she could see the wheels turning in Drew’s mind. She watched as Drew stole a glance at Jules and her mum, and a small smile crossed his lips.

Maggie turned to Karen and arched an eyebrow. Silently asking if Karen had seen what she had. With a slight nod from Karen, Maggie turned back to Drew and the rest of the family. “I take it, that this is not entirely unwelcome news?”

Drew began to blush. It seemed to start at his toes and slowly work up the rest of his body. “Errmm……well Dr. Maggie, uh, no it isn’t. Ummm, in the time we’ve all been talking, I’ve come to a decision. Not so much a decision I guess, really. More like with all we talked about I began to look at who I am a whole lot. And I started to see who I really was. And once mum and dad were here and we started to be able to talk, it all sort of came together in my mind.”

Karen leaned over in her chair and looked directly into Drew’s eyes. “Can you share this decision with us?” she gently asked.

“Dr. Karen, I realized that I always was Gaby. And mum and dad and Jules were all here and I could feel how much they loved me. And, I knew I could tell them that. And when I did, it was all okay. I was very scared though.”

Both doctors noted the significance of the use of ‘Gaby’ and how it seemed that Drew took possession of that name.

“So Gaby, how do you feel about that?”

“Ummm ... scared but safe at the same time, if that makes sense. I know I have the support of everybody here, and I know Gran will be okay, but the rest of my friends? I don’t know about them. Given how they’ve been treating me while I’ve been here, I really don’t know. I thought I knew them, but now I’m not so sure.” She paused a moment, “And the one I’m most unsure about is Maddy. I mean, looking back on everything I know she’s had a lot of ‘fun’ making me over into Gaby at every chance, but how will things be now that I’m Gaby for real?” Gaby gulped then, “I don’t want to lose her.”

Tears started falling from Gaby’s eyes as she carried on. “I mean, that would make us lesbians. And she and Em and everyone else here have been treating me like I have the plague ‘coz I love another girl’. Is that just the influence of the kids here, or do all my friends really feel that way?” Gaby swallowed, “I think that’s what scares me the most.”

Then, a bit more steadily, “And mum and dad haven’t sugarcoated it for me. They tell me it’s going to be very tough too. That there will be people that can’t accept that I was Drew and am now Gaby. This might make it a touch easier with some people, but not everyone will believe it.”

“You’re right Gaby” Karen said “In some ways it will make it easier, but yes, there are people that will simply say that it’s a convenient excuse and nothing more. And yes, feeling safe and scared makes perfect sense.” She paused, before asking, “How does it make you feel about the rest of your time here and for when you go home?”

“Well, with mum, dad and Jules here, I’m not worried about the rest of the trip. ‘Cept for being able to race this weekend.” Gaby said, turning a set of doe eyes on the two doctors.

Maggie and Karen both burst out laughing.

“Wow!” Maggie chuckled “you sure have the pleading eyes down pat. Dave, Jenny – you better watch out or she’ll be talking you out of a car before you know it!” Then, back to Gaby, “We’ll talk about that a little later Gaby. We still have a fair bit of ground to cover yet. So to get back to Karen’s question, what about when you get home?”

“That one I’m not so sure of. I admit I am worried about the gang and about school. Will I be allowed back? What will all my mates say? What about the Head and the teachers?”

Jenny decided to take a hand in the discussion. “Well petal, the school will not have any problems with it. One way or the other. Mr. Woods and all the teachers are bound by the law at home, and the Gender Recognition Act will not allow that kind of thing. And your dad and I will be having a long discussion with Mr. Woods anyways, and we will make sure there are no difficulties there. As for all your mates and the gang, well we’ll have to take that one step at a time.”

“But what about our neighbours, and the other people in town? What about them?”

“One step at a time pet, one step at a time.” Jenny gently stroked her daughter’s hair, trying to keep her calm.

“Gaby, those are all valid fears. And some people will surprise you – on both sides of the equation” Karen said. “The thing to keep in mind is this is who you are, and it is not like you have a choice in your genetics or in who you are. The genetics and the hard wiring are set long before birth. But look around you. You have your family. Learn to lean on their strength when you need to. It is obvious to both of us that your family loves you very much, and will do whatever they can to help you.” She paused for breath before continuing, “Before you go home, I will give your mum and dad the names of some therapists in England that can help you with things as well. You are a strong young woman Gaby, whether you believe it or not right now. You have had to be to survive this long. I’m going to turn things back over to Maggie for the moment, so we can go over the rest of the test results and then we can talk about them. Okay?”

“Sure, Dr. Karen, that would be okay.”

“Okay then,” Maggie said, “let’s keep going.”

“From your blood, we learned a few other things. Yes, you are still somewhat iron deficient so you do need to keep taking your pills. But when we checked your hormone levels, they came back as normal. Normal for a girl just entering puberty. Now for a boy that shouldn’t be possible because you shouldn’t have the internal equipment to make that happen. I got these tests back before I got the genetic test back, so this may seem slightly out of order. And for that I apologize. But, when your hormone levels came back like that, I decided we needed to do some further physical investigation. That’s why I ordered that special x-ray – the MRI. The MRI uses magnetics to map an image of areas of the body we need to see in much more detail than standard x-rays.”

Continuing her explanation, “The first one we did while you were still asleep. Dr. Winters, our radiologist monitored the MRI while it was being done. One of her comments was that if she didn’t know any better, that strictly from the skeletal structure she would have said we were scanning a girl. That was one of our first clues. As she continued the scan she noted what appeared to be a female reproductive system – somewhat underdeveloped, but there. And she noted that there were no male reproductive organs present. This presented us with another set of problems to look at.”

“Why was that Dr. Maggie?”

“Well Gaby, think of how you look externally. You look like a boy. And since you have never reported any problems urinating, then that meant that there were some things inside you that weren’t quite in the right place.”

With that Maggie dug out a couple of diagrams. One was of the female reproductive and urinary systems, the other was for the male.

“If you look at both of these side by each Gaby, you can tell that the way the urethra, that’s what carries urine from the bladder to be expelled from the body, is different between the two.” With that she used a pencil to trace the urethra on each diagram so Gaby could see what she meant. “So that left me with another mystery. What was going on inside your tummy? And what effect could all of this have on you physically?”

“In talking about this with Dr. Winters, it was her opinion that the female reproductive organs appeared to be inactive at this point, and like I said, somewhat underdeveloped. It was also her opinion that those organs could become active before long. By not active I mean she saw no evidence of blood collecting in the abdominal cavity or what would appear to be enlarged organs. Once I had this information, and then got the genetic results back, I had a lot more to work with.” Pausing then, “Now remember we had an MRI done when you were feeling kind of sleepy? After you had woken up for the first time?”

“Yes, Dr. Maggie, I remember.”

“Well Gaby, that was when I had Dr. Winters do a more detailed examination of the whole abdominal area. Partially to confirm what the first one had noted and so see if there was evidence of anything else at all there.”

Jenny, Dave and Karen knew what was coming next. Karen tried to maintain a calm and professional demeanor while she prepared to help Gaby if things started to get out of hand. Dave tensed up, but tried to remain cheerful for Gaby’s sake; and Jenny just continued to hug Gaby – perhaps a little bit tighter than before, but Gaby never noticed that.

“So, what did she find, Dr. Maggie?”

“Well Gaby, she confirmed that you have a full set of female reproductive organs, and that there were no male reproductive organs present. She also found evidence of a partially formed vaginal canal. And she found some tissue thickening where the vagina should be located and believes it to be scar tissue.” Maggie paused for a moment to let Gaby take in that information.

“So I have most of the girl ‘bits’ and some scar tissue.” Gaby said, more to herself than to the others. Looking up, “Why would there be scar tissue, Dr. Maggie?”

Maggie and Karen had both known this question would come and had been dreading answering it. How do you tell a child that a doctor made a mistake and mutilated her? Well, she certainly wouldn’t tell Gaby ‘mutilated’ although that was how she privately felt about it. She and Karen had discussed this and they had both agreed that the best way to handle this was that this was a mistake made with the best of intentions. Whether it was or wasn’t was impossible to determine at this point, unless there were some medical records in England that detailed what happened and why. And privately she doubted that. So, for Gaby’s mental health and to try and let her make sense of it somehow, this was how they had decided to handle it.

“Well, Gaby, there is essentially only one answer for that. It is most likely that you were born with both sets of genitals, and when you were born, the decision was made to remove the one set. Now two things to remember here that are very important. The first is that the decision was made purely by the doctors. We have talked with your mum and dad and they assure us that they were never informed of this. The second thing is that this was likely done with the best of intentions.”

“Best of intentions, Dr. Maggie? They operated on me, and didn’t tell mum and dad? How could that be best for me?!!!”

Gaby was getting a bit wound up now, and Jules was looking absolutely horrified. Dave had put his arm around Jules to give her some comfort, and Jenny had pulled Gaby right into her and was quietly whispering to her trying to calm her down so Maggie could finish what she had to say before Gaby totally lost it.

“Gaby, please let me try and explain what I think might have happened. Can you do that for me please?” Maggie quietly asked.

Gaby looked at Maggie, and saw the compassion in her eyes. “All right Dr. Maggie. Go ahead.”

“Now, you remember what I told you about the MRI results? And you remember what I told you about how your urethra was routed? The doctor that would have delivered you obviously saw both sets of genitalia. Now, if he had seen some urine come from your penis, he may have made the assumption that because this was the way the urinary system was routed; then the female genitalia were the extraneous, or not needed set. And as such he would have done what is called a vaginectomy, or surgical removal of the vagina.” She carefully watched how Gaby was taking this, and as she seemed to be no worse, “Fast forward to where we are now. Genetic testing is much more widely used and readily available. MRI’s are far more prevalent and access to them much easier. It is far easier for us to tell now, and the methods we use now differ from even 10 to 15 years ago. So yes, it is much easier for us to tell, and far easier for us to look at it in hindsight and say he made a bad decision. But, you have to ask yourself what were the options available to the doctor at the time? He most likely didn’t have access to the equipment and testing options we have here today.”

After a brief pause, “I am not trying to make excuses for your doctor. Not by any stretch of the imagination. But I am just pointing out some of the differences between then and now. Should he have consulted your parents? In my mind, yes. Should he have done more investigation? To my way of thinking, the answer to that is yes as well. But we are here now, and hindsight is always clearer. No matter the route that led us all here, we have some issues that need to be dealt with fairly shortly. Fortunately, from our standpoint right here right now, the vaginectomy was an incomplete one.”

“Why is that a ‘good thing’?” Gaby asked rather bitterly.

“There are a couple of reasons for that. But first let me say that it’s okay to be angry about this. I know I would be if it were me. And I suspect your parents are angry too. There is no one left to be angry at however. Your parents tell me that the doctor that delivered you died a few years ago. So, while it’s okay to be angry, don’t let it consume you. We can fix what happened, and that’s what is important. But back to the reasons. First of course is that we have found the problem and can fix it. Second, if the vaginectomy had been complete, they also would have done a complete, or radical, hysterectomy. That is a complete removal of the ovaries, uterus and cervix. Which means you would have had no internal production of hormones at all. This in many ways would be worse, because pubertal development would not have happened at all until we had discovered that and added one hormone or another. Third, because he did not do the hysterectomy, once we ‘repair’ the vaginectomy, you should be able to have children of your own. Which means you can still lead a completely normal life.”

“Ummm…really? I could have children of my own someday?”

“Yes Gaby, it is possible.”

Gaby sat there in wonderment thinking about that. Part of what had bothered her so much was that she was never going to have a normal life. And now the doctor was telling her it was possible. “You mean I won’t have to take hormone shots? So I can keep cycling?!!”

“Yes Gaby, you will be able to keep cycling. You will just need to do it for the women’s teams. While you can compete with the boys right now, another year or so and they will start passing you by. Well, maybe they will. With your determination I am not so sure.” This last drew chuckles from several present, as it was intended.

In the background Jules was looking at her mum. “Uterus and ovaries?” she mouthed. Her mother nodded. “Periods?” Again Jen nodded. Oh my, this could get interesting. Mum and I are going to have a whole lot of things to teach Gabs. I wonder when...” Jules face whipped round to look at her mother once more, with a somewhat stricken look. Jen looked back at her with a slow and sad nod.

Gaby meanwhile was very happy with the fact that she would still be able to cycle competitively. Elated was probably a better word. Adding in her happiness that she would end up no different from the other girls, and not be a freak, she might be ecstatic. Well, except for the fact that she loved another girl.

“Now Gaby, I am fairly sure that this has never been explained to you, but it is in puberty when women begin menstruation. Have they talked about menstruation in health class to you?” At Gaby’s quizzical look, “I didn’t think so. First, what is menstruation? Menstruation - having periods - is part of the female reproductive cycle that starts when girls become sexually mature at the time of puberty. During a menstrual period, a woman bleeds from her uterus (womb) via the vagina. This lasts anything from three to seven days. Each period commences approximately every 28 days if the woman does not become pregnant during a given cycle.” Pausing, “Are you with me so far, Gaby?”

“Errmmm….yes.” Gaby was blushing and somewhat uncomfortable getting The Talk from Dr. Maggie, even though she knew this was information she needed.

“Second, is why do women menstruate? Menstruation is a very complicated process involving many different hormones, the woman's sex organs and the brain. A woman's internal sex organs consist of two ovaries, the Fallopian tubes, the uterus (womb) and the vagina. The ovaries contain the eggs with which the woman is born and, during each period, a single egg will usually ripen and mature due to the action of hormones circulating in the bloodstream.”

Maggie picked up the diagram she had shown Gaby earlier and used her pen to show each of the organs to Gaby. “When the egg is mature it bursts from the ovary and drifts through the Fallopian tube down into the uterus. The lining of the uterus - the endometrium - has been thickened by the action of hormones and made ready to receive the fertilized egg. If the egg is fertilized and the woman becomes pregnant, it will fasten itself onto the endometrium. If the egg is not fertilized, however, the resulting hormonal changes cause the endometrium to slip away and menstruation begins. The menstrual discharge is composed of the endometrium itself, together with a little fresh blood caused by the breaking of very fine blood vessels within the endometrium as it detaches itself from the inside of the uterus.”

She paused to make sure Gaby was following along, and as she appeared to be, “Next, and I guess most importantly for us here is when menstruation begins? These days, girls begin to menstruate when they are about 10 to 14, with the average age about 12. Women generally continue to menstruate until around 50, when menopause begins. Most women have about 500 periods in their lifetime.” She paused again, knowing the next likely reason to give Gaby for the talk, “We believe that you’ve not started menstruating because your body seems to be trying to adapt two systems. And we think it may be partially because you are a high level athlete early in life.” Maggie paused again.

“Umm. How does that affect me?”

“I’m getting to that, but I want to make sure you have a complete background so things will make sense.”

“But…”

“No, don’t worry, you don’t need to remember all the big words, just how things work together. Okay?” After Gaby’s nod, “This brings us to things that can influence menstruation? Hormones, weight and stress. Regular exercise can help regulate things, but over exercising adds stress. We think that right now all three factors have kept your period from starting. Your hormones have definitely been out of balance prior to now, your body fat percentage is extremely low and you train very hard. We think this combination of factors has kept puberty at bay for the moment. And I suspect the stress of all of this has been a contributing factor as well.”

“Does all that make sense and do you see how it affects you?”

“Well, yes. It is all a little much to take in all at once though. But I bet mum and Jules will be able to help me and explain it again if I need it.”

Both Jen and Jules piped up with an “Of course I will.”

Throughout this explanation Karen had been keeping an eye on Gaby and watching her reactions and the reactions of the rest of the family. The silent byplay between Jules and Jenny had not been missed. Jules was a very smart young lady Karen thought. She had grasped the essential problem almost immediately. Gaby was reacting to “The Talk” no different than any girl just entering puberty would, with that “ooh, ick – do I really need to hear all this!” look on her face. The problem was of course, that unlike most girls her age, they were going to have to look at very rapid surgical intervention to make sure Gaby’s internal systems worked properly and didn’t end up causing her a whole plate full of other medical issues.

Maggie continued speaking.

“So that is the basics Gaby. However, in your case we have to do something to make sure that all of this can happen as it is supposed to. Right now, if you were to begin menstruation the blood has nowhere to go.”

Gaby blanched as the import of what Maggie had just said began to sink in.

“But, but, but...”

“Yes, Gaby – that means you are going to have to have an operation to fix what the doctor did when you were born. And it will have to be quite soon. Not today, or tomorrow, but likely within the next month we will have to get you the surgery so that things can happen normally for you. If we don’t there is a whole host of other medical problems that it could cause.”

Karen took up the narrative at this point.

“So, Gaby. How do you feel about what you have been told so far?”

“Right now Dr. Karen, I feel a whole lot of things. I’m mad, happy, worried, umm, kind of freaked out, and very relieved.”

“All of those are completely normal and understandable reactions and emotions Gaby. I would be concerned if you weren’t feeling a jumble of emotions like that. This is a lot to take in all at once. And since it affects all parts of your life it is going to take a while for everything to come together for you. You may find that at times one emotion will seem to override all of the others. That too is perfectly normal. You just have to try to be careful to not let it overwhelm you. Fixating on one emotion can also be dangerous.” She paused a moment, wondering if she really should drop the bomb that none of them seemed to have fully grasped as yet, then decided getting it all out now was for the best. “As surprising as it may seem, as painful as these last five weeks here in Grottoes have been, in one way they may have saved your life. If these things hadn’t happened, you and your family might not have found out about this until you were lying in a hospital bed at home bleeding into your abdomen and getting blood poisoning.”

That actually brought the entire family up short. That was a thought none of them had considered. That traumatic as this event had been, and as rough as life had been for Gaby these past few weeks, they had found out about this at a time when it was possible to do something about it with a minimum of harm to Gaby.

“We have time to resolve this now. So, as I said, there is a silver lining to the pain you’ve suffered.” She could see all four begin to relax. “You are a very special young lady. Just try to keep being you throughout all of this. And if things start to feel like they are getting too much – tell someone. Whether it’s your parents, your sister, your doctor – whoever. Don’t let it fester and grow.” She paused again to let that sink in. “We still have things to talk about, you and I, but before you leave I will make sure you have my e-mail address and phone numbers so that if it ever gets bad, you can always get a hold of me.”

Gaby blushed again, and idly wondered if she had ever blushed so much in her entire life before. “Thank you, Dr. Karen.”

“Okay then, Gaby” intoned Maggie “So let’s talk about the immediate future shall we? As I told you, we have to look at doing the surgery and quite soon. This presents a few challenges for all of us. The first is whether or not the NHS can do the work fast enough versus getting it done elsewhere. Second, the matter of your personal privacy is an issue – since you are on the way to becoming a world class athlete, this is not something you necessarily want everyone and their dog knowing about. Third, this is different from a ‘normal’ Sexual Reassignment Surgery or SRS– so it will take a real specialist in this type of surgery.”

Karen interrupted, “While I agree with Maggie, she’s hitting a tad hard. But, you do need to take care of it soon, and she’s right that it will not be the typical job, so you will want one of the top specialists. The Thai surgeons are some of the best in the world, and probably do more of the surgeries than any other country, but you’re lucky in that one at least as good is just a short flight into Canada. I’d recommend him, or one of the ones in Thailand over any others here in the US, or in the UK, not to denigrate the NHS surgeons, but they just don’t have the experience and results.” She shifted her focus to Jenny and Dave. “I had our benefits coordinator contact her colleague in the NHS, and was able to confirm that the surgery Maggie’s described is covered under a reciprocal services agreement with the Canadian health system.”

Seeing the worry on Gaby’s face Maggie took over the discussion again, “The next thing to look at is whether or not you are going to be fit for racing this weekend.”

“Oh please, oh please say yes, Dr. Maggie. Pleeeaassseee?”

The rest of the people in the room tried hard to stifle their laughs as Gaby turned the doe eyes on Maggie again, doing a successful impression of Puss from Shrek 2.

“Gaby dear, turn down the intensity of the ‘doe eyes’ please. You could hurt someone” Maggie laughed “We have a few more physical tests to run before I will clear you to race. We have to make sure that you are not in imminent danger of having your first period start, and I want to run some basic physical tests to make sure the rest of you is up to a race.”

“Oh, “I’m sure I’m fine to race Dr. Maggie, I feel good and except for yesterday I have been taking my iron pills every day. Please, please, please let me race!!!”

“We’re going to get you on the treadmill and check a bunch of other fitness levels, I want Dr. Winter’s opinion on whether we need another scan or not, and I do want you to have a couple of more chats with Dr. Page before we decide that Gaby.” She paused a moment, but seeing the look in Gaby’s eyes again, “But, you will know, by tomorrow, if you will race this weekend. Now I know that this weekend’s race is the most important thing in your mind right now young lady, but your long term health and safety are my concern. And, if at all possible, I will not allow you to jeopardize them for the sake of a race.” Dr. Maggie paused then, and leaned over and looked Gaby directly in the eyes “I, Dr. Karen, and, most importantly, your family, all want you around for a long time to come. None of us want to be worried that something might happen during the race if you push yourself too hard. So please let us check everything out first, okay?”

“All right Dr. Maggie.” Gaby paused a minute, then looking up, “When can I start doing the tests so we can see if I can race?” It was apparent to from the tone in her voice that she was hoping she could start them right now.

“Well, we will start the tests first thing in the morning. Right now, I believe we should start looking at the options we have to fix your ‘little problem’.” Dr. Maggie paused then, as if to collect her thoughts, “Now then, as we are dealing with Gaby and not Drew, there is one other set of tests that we ran that are not overly important right now, but may play a role in the future. It was what is called an Androgen Receptor study to see how well your body could accept androgens. Androgens are the male hormones, estrogens are the female hormones. This would have been far more important if you had wished to remain Drew, because in order to get you to develop like any other boy would have required shots of testosterone, a male hormone. While it would have been serious then, now it is more of an interesting bit of information.”

Dr. Maggie paused again, “You, are extremely androgen insensitive. We would not have been able to give you those shots. And if we had, at best nothing would happen, but at worst you could have had a severe allergic reaction. It would appear that the very little bit of androgens that your body produces are as much as you will ever be able to tolerate. Given that, I have to admit I was very relieved when you told us you were remaining Gaby, because our options are very limited in the other direction.”

“So even if I had wanted to stay Drew, it wouldn’t have been possible Dr. Maggie?” Gaby was quiet for a minute after asking, Wow, I guess that Drew was kind of not meant to be. And I’m glad they didn’t tell me about this earlier. It could easily have caused me to want to be Drew even more, rather than admit I like being Gaby.

Observing Gaby, Karen could see the expressions rapidly crossing her face, and interposed, “What do you think about that?”

“Dr. Karen, I was just thinking that I guess Drew was really not meant to be and that I was glad that you didn’t tell me that part before I came to my decision.”

“Why is that?”

“I guess it’s because those branches we talked about would have been trimmed not because of anything I did, but just because my body couldn’t cope. I’ve, um, been known to be a bit stubborn about some things.”

The comment drew a quick laugh from her family, to which she ducked her head briefly, but then continued, “This way, I know that the decision was mine, and not one forced on me by conditions.”

Karen nodded, “It is one thing to be yourself, but something totally different if you are forced into it.”

Despite the earlier laugh at Gaby’s remark, it was apparent to Karen that her family was confused about something in Gaby’s response and figured it was probably the tree trimming analogy. Addressing them, “Earlier, Gaby and I had been discussing choices, decisions and consequences from making decisions. Gaby was struggling to understand what I was trying to get at. So I gave her the example using a tournament tree, similar to what you see in badminton tournaments. Where, your path through the tree is dependent on your actions and that some decisions close off some parts of the tree, like losing a match, and may open others as well, like putting you in a completely different bracket. I explained that most people use the same kind of model, albeit subconsciously, in making decisions. And, as Gaby so rightly just pointed out, a default that took away her choices through no fault of her own would be like a forfeit, and much harder to accept.”

While Dave and Jenny seemed to understand the analogy now, Jules still had a somewhat confused look on her face

“Does that make sense Juliette?” Karen asked.

“Errmm. Yes, kind of. So by Gaby making the decision to be Gaby, she closed off the possibilities of Drew. And the decisions about hormones and things like that. But she opened up all the possibilities for being Gaby and everything that may happen because of that.”

“Exactly!” Karen continued, “This way, Gaby was able to make her decision without feeling forced by the result from the androgen receptor study. As she indicated, having that knowledge could well have caused her to make a decision just to fight it, rather than what she felt. While normally we would prefer to allow a patient to make their decision based on complete information, I convinced Dr. Maggie that in this case, withholding it would allow Gaby a freer choice.”

“Thank you, Dr. Karen. I’m glad you did.” chimed in Gaby.

Maggie now took up the discussion again. “Now Gaby, we did discuss some of the options to correct things surgically with your mum and dad, and Dr. Page sent your medical file to a colleague of hers who is a surgeon specializing in SRS. Perhaps we should have consulted with you before taking this step, but Karen and I felt it was in your interest to get the outside opinion so we could present a more complete list of the potential options available to you.”

Maggie nodded to Karen, who then took up the reins of the conversation. “I got a response to my enquiry with the SRS surgeon just before we came in. After reviewing the case notes that I had sent to him, he said that while the needed surgery would be fairly lengthy and delicate he felt he could do the work at least as well if not better than anyone else he could refer you to. It is not common surgery, as he would be reconnecting things rather than constructing. He also indicated that due to the seriousness of the situation, he would place himself on call to do the surgery at any time, should you decide to take advantage of his services.” She paused then, “His thought is that the surgery would be about four to five hours, of which most would be in the external cosmetic work. As indicated, that while your case is serious, the actual reconnective work may not be that difficult. He also guessed that since the surgery might well be less invasive in many ways, your overall recovery time might be faster than typical of his SRS patients.”

Jenny then asked, “What IS the typical recovery period, and what does it entail?”

“The usual amount of time spent at his clinic is fourteen days from start to finish for a standard SRS patient. He believes that between Gaby’s youth, general fitness level and the work that he has to do; that it is possible that it could be down to seven to ten days before she will be ready to go home where she will continue healing.”

Looking at the whole family she continued “Surgery is never to be undertaken lightly, and this is something you need to talk about as a family, I’m sure. As you think and talk through things, you will likely come up with a number of questions. Rather than interrupt discussion, if you write them down, we can cover them after we come back together. Of course, if you run into something that is stopping you from moving forward, don’t hesitate to ask then.”

Karen paused, “I will tell you that I did not get into the details of the surgery as that is not my specialty, but I have every confidence in Pierre. As a result, I cannot answer detailed questions there, but Dr. Maggie should be able to provide you with some general details on what to expect. I can tell you that Pierre is truly a caring surgeon, and is truly committed to helping his patients.”

Karen paused again, and looked at each of the Bonds, “I have a couple of tasks for all of you this evening. First I want you to all go out for a nice dinner and spend some family time together. And, yes, that means that you will get out of here for a while, Gaby.” Karen smiled, and continued, “After that, I would like you all to sit down and talk about all that you have discovered and we have discussed today. I don’t expect you to come to any decisions tonight. Even if you did, I’d ask you to sleep on them. Don’t forget to make a list of questions, and don’t leave out the trivial. I truly believe that in cases like this there is no such thing as too much information, and there is definitely no such thing as a stupid question. Who knows, it may be the question you feel is obvious, or trivial, that provides one of you with the key you need to be able to help come to the best decision.”

Dr. Maggie joined in. “Gaby will need to be here for testing in the morning, so we expect to see her, and probably the rest of you at 9:00 am. I’ll not impose a curfew I can’t enforce, but Gaby does need a good night’s sleep, she’s been through a lot, so all of you, get a good night’s sleep and we’ll see you in the morning.”

Jen answered for all of them, replying “That sounds fine doctors. Dave and I want to spend some time with our newest daughter, and we could all use the time to talk and rest.”

“Very well then, Gaby, you get out of jail for the rest of the day with your family. Tomorrow Gaby, would you wear exercise clothes please?”

Gaby agreed, and Dr. Maggie quickly went over the discharge papers. Once all was signed, Gaby grabbed her mum’s hand, and tugged her toward the door.

“Hold on, sport, do you know where you’re going?”

“Umm, out?”

“Yes, but which way?”

Gaby stopped, then, “Okay, you lead mum.” Turning back to the doctors, “See you tomorrow Dr. Maggie and Dr. Karen.”

And with that, the Bond family headed out of the hospital.