Recovery from gender-affirming surgery is a marathon, not a sprint. Most surgeons recommend taking at least off from work, depending on the nature of the job.

She hadn’t answered. She had packed a single suitcase and moved to a tiny apartment in Nonthaburi, where the landlord was a grandmother who didn’t ask questions. Then she had enrolled in a six-month home health aide certificate course. She had studied like her life depended on it, because it did.

The most important rule is: Dilation and healing are full-time jobs in the beginning.

Fern decided beforehand how much she wanted to share. When colleagues asked how her "vacation" or "leave" was, she kept it professional: