It won't be long

Lauren 6 months before surgery

I had been making money in Burbank, California for several years, working as an imitation woman all the time. 

I had my own hair but fake nails and fake breasts.

In the summer of 2016, I had finally lost enough weight that I could schedule my gender affirmation surgery for early 2017, right after my 49th birthday.

I decided to return to Florida for my surgery because I knew several good surgeons at Tampa General Hospital. Besides, living in California was much too expensive to continue.

The one good thing: living as a woman for four years had really prepared me for becoming a woman.

So, I was ready for my gender affirmation surgery.