Krystal’s Gender-Affirming Surgery Journey (Part 3): Preparation, Recovery, and Finding Peace

In part three of Krystal’s three-episode series on Demystifying the Transgender Journey, Wendy Cole and Lynn Murphy welcome back Krystal following her recent gender-affirming surgery at Mount Sinai in Manhattan. Krystal explains how her dysphoria and safety concerns led her from considering surgery to realizing she needed it, how she chose her surgical team, and the lengthy requirements involved, including letters, BMI goals, tucking, and extensive hair removal. She describes the emotions and logistics of moving up her surgery date, the hospital experience, early recovery challenges, and key post-op care such as swelling control and long-term dilation. Krystal shares that post-surgery she feels “normal,” calm, and at peace, reflecting on gratitude, womanhood, and what trans perspectives reveal about gender.

Video Content Mentioned in this Episode:

Pt 1 of Krystal’s Story on DTTJ:

https://youtu.be/o-EMMRsf3bk

Pt 2 of Krystal’s Story on DTTJ:

https://youtu.be/LroRkCwUiJo

“Born To Be” Documentary on Mount Sinai:

https://www.borntobefilm.com/

For more information about Krystal Franqui:

https://www.instagram.com/krysfran2472

https://bsky.app/profile/ember83.bsky.social

For more information about this project:

https://www.thetransgenderjourney.com

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/demystifying-the-transgender-journey/id1799458202

https://www.facebook.com/thetransgenderjourney

https://womenwhopushthelimits.com

To contact Wendy:

MeetWendyCole.com.

https://www.facebook.com/wendycolegtm

https://www.youtube.com/@wendycole8326

https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-cole-gtm

Krystal Franqui on Dysphoria, HRT Relief & Choosing Visibility (Part 2 of 3) | Demystifying the Transgender Journey

In part two of Krystal Franqui’s three-episode series on Demystifying the Transgender Journey, Krystal describes years of trying not to transition by using detailed mental stories and intense hobbies like Civil War reenacting to distract from dysphoria, until COVID-era stress triggered severe panic attacks and breakdowns at work. After starting therapy and being diagnosed with gender dysphoria, she began HRT in 2021 and describes rapid improvements in mood, relationships, and mental clarity, alongside losing a job after coming out to HR. Krystal shares her family’s reactions, including supportive children and an accepting mother, recounts early experiences of gender euphoria, and explains being trans through analogies like a pebble in a shoe and describing color to someone born blind. She also explains why she chose visibility and education over going stealth.

For more information about Krystal:

https://www.instagram.com/krysfran2472

https://bsky.app/profile/ember83.bsky.social

For more information about this project: https://www.thetransgenderjourney.com https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/demystifying-the-transgender-journey/id1799458202 https://www.facebook.com/thetransgenderjourney https://womenwhopushthelimits.com

To contact Wendy: MeetWendyCole.com. https://www.facebook.com/wendycolegtm https://www.youtube.com/@wendycole8326 https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-cole-gtm

In Part 1 of this 3-episode series on Demystifying the Transgender Journey, hosts Lynn Murphy and Wendy Cole introduce Krystal Franqui, a 42-year-old woman who affirmed her gender four and a half years ago, is married, and has two adult children. Krystal describes early childhood discomfort with her body, neurodivergent diagnoses (ADD and later autism), isolation at school, and a pivotal dream and puberty experience that intensified dysphoria and depression. With little representation or support in the late 80s and 90s, she tried to “learn” boy behavior by masking and creating rules for what boys could say and do. She joined the Navy in 2001 to prove “manhood,” deployed on an aircraft carrier, and later worked in civilian aviation, still feeling socially out of place. Around 2006 a counselor raised “gender identity disorder,” but family resistance led her to repress it for 15 years, using elaborate internal stories and intense hobbies to cope, ending as COVID approached.

For more information about Krystal:

https://www.instagram.com/krysfran2472

https://bsky.app/profile/ember83.bsky.social

For more information about this project: https://www.thetransgenderjourney.com https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/demystifying-the-transgender-journey/id1799458202 https://www.facebook.com/thetransgenderjourney https://womenwhopushthelimits.com

To contact Wendy: MeetWendyCole.com. https://www.facebook.com/wendycolegtm https://www.youtube.com/@wendycole8326 https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-cole-gtm