‘I have confidence,’ says West Michigan transgender man after gender-affirming surgery – MLive.com
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Born Amanda Dunn in 1984, Jameson “Jay” Dunn came out as a transgender man in 2020.
From his preteen years through his early adult life, Dunn, now 37, said he identified as a lesbian.
He said he was known as one of three openly gay people out of around 400 students attending his high school in Galesburg.
As a teenager, he said he attended small Pride events for the LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual) community but faced adversity from picketers who were against him and his peers’ sexual orientation. June is celebrated as LGBTQ+ Pride Month in Michigan an around the world.
“I wasn’t always a frontline lesbian,” Dunn said. “But apparently, I am a frontline trans man, and I think it’s because I’m proud of who I am now.”
Dunn had his gender reassignment top surgery (bilateral mastectomy with chest reconstruction) done on October 20, 2020, about six months after he started taking testosterone.
“Ever since then, I feel like myself,” Dunn said. “I have confidence. I’ve been educating people in my workplace and in my family. It’s an adjustment for everybody with the name change and everything else.”
He said he lost over 100 pounds following the surgery, as part of his journey and transformation.
Even with the positive feedback from loved ones, Dunn said that he still came across people that viewed his transition in a negative light. Those people are no longer in his lie.
“It’s had its drawbacks with a couple of people,” Dunn said. “That’s to be expected. If that’s the loss to live my truth, then that’s what happens.”
He says he is excited about his personal growth and the many opportunities ahead for him and his wife of 12 years.
“This is what I’ve been missing my entire life,” Dunn said. “Every day I walk out of the house, I have a big smile on my face. I am trying to enjoy what I’ve created in the last couple of years and continue moving forward with the new me.”
According to Dunn, top surgery was all he needed and wanted to complete his transition, contrary to the misconception that a person must receive both top and bottom surgery to identify as trans.
“You can still be a trans male with or without bottom surgery,” Dunn said. “For me, it was like a literal load was lifted off my chest.”
Dunn said because he works in surgery processing at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo his $40,000 surgery was completely covered.
Spectrum Health’s Dr. Amie Hop, a surgeon at the Spectrum Health Comprehensive Breast Clinic, was in charge of Dunn’s gender reassignment procedure.
Like any surgery, she said those undergoing the gender reassignment procedure must be medically well enough to move forward.
For example, Hop said if a cardiologist deemed them too high risk, the patient would not qualify.
Besides physical health, patients must receive a signed letter from a licensed psychologist stating the patient is in a good place mentally, she said.
“We are looking to make sure that they are in a good place to proceed from that standpoint and have all the support they need,” Hop said.
She said preparation for the surgery requires patients to have several consultations with the surgeon, as well as meeting with a psychologist that follows medical guidelines.
The procedure itself can take anywhere from between two to four hours depending on the patient’s chest size and the type of techniques used, Hop said.
Recovery can be two to six weeks before the range of motion and strength return to normal. During recovery, she said patients can expect drains on incisions anywhere between one week to a month.
“It is a fairly extensive surgery, but overall, it is pretty low risk as far as surgeries go,” Hop said. “Most people are doing normal activities the next day. We just ask they restrict lifting more than 20 pounds.”
The surgery enabled Dunn to feel confident in his own skin, he said. During his daily routine, he no longer had to wear a sports bra for aesthetics.
Dunn is enjoying life with his wife and other loves, including Legos, video games and his Yamaha motorcycle.
He attended his first Pride event last month as a trans man and said he was overwhelmed by the amount of support and love surrounding him.
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