GENDER TRANSITION & POST-OP support :::
transition & pre/post operative care

When I had top surgery, so much was going through my head and my body. Who would take care of me? What should I eat? Would this change any of my relationships? Am I making the right choice? Everything was scary and unknown. Those who I felt safest being tended by were other trans people who have had similar experiences. They cooked me persimmon bread, curry rice, and watched the Walking Dead with me. All while I went in and out of a daze of pain meds, discomfort, and deep physical, emotional, and spiritual rebirth.

I am still a student of the art of receiving. It was difficult to allow people to tend to me and trust that I would be caught by their love. I was lucky enough to be working at an organization at a time whose insurance covered my entire surgery, in a state where gender-affirming care is still allowed, which is not the reality for most. And still, it felt wild. It is something that many of us in the diaspora understand. To jump through the hoops of being Korean, and queer, and genderfluid, was a lot to hold at once. And it took the big arms of my various loved ones to hold me steady while I made these big decisions for myself.

As the world becomes increasingly vocal in its hostility towards us, I am becoming more solid, steadfast, and present in my love for my queer and trans family.

To be a gender transition doula is to tend to our becoming. It is to love ourselves and to love one another because we are each other’s survival.

What does a gender transition doula do?

  • Being with you through the highs & lows of deciding on and going through your gender affirming process

  • Co-creating transition ceremonies together — honoring your past, present, and future selves

  • Pre-operative planning, including bringing in support, resource connection, etc.

  • Referrals to gender-affirming and trans-competent providers and resources

  • Pre and post-operative herbal support (including recommendations on supplementations, herbal care to support healing, etc.) as wanted

  • Meal preparation, before or after surgery, with a focus on cooking nourishing and easy-to-digest meals for post-operative healing

  • Acudetox (5NP) for emotional balancing, regulating nervous system, and helping clearing surgery meds from body

  • Coordinating schedule care with care team

  • Working with families to support their trans teen/youth

  • And much more, depending on your specific care needs

PRICING:

Talk to me about pricing! I accept monetary exchanges, and am open to trades and barters.

Sliding scale: $45-75/hr

*For BIPOC, I offer a lower sliding scale, and am open to trades/barters. Please reach out!