We have a family e-mail list including an extended family. The
following are two letters written about Danielle for all the
family to read. The first is from her brother, and the second
from her Grandma Clela. The third letter is from Danielle to the
rest of the family.

....

Hello again everyone.

This is a subject that probably a lot of people have discussed
butt are a little afraid to ask questions about. The subject I am
talking about is my wonderful sister Danielle.

Danielle decided to come clean to me with her secret while she
was in Phoenix visiting me. I went to work one day and said
good-bye to Daniel and came home to Danielle. At first I was full
of self pity, and didn't know what I was gonna do or what
everyone would think of it. For several weeks I could hardly
sleep at night thinking of what would happen to her and why this
had happened to our family. We had already been through so much
and now this. Before this happened to our family I had watched
talk shows where there were people in similar situations and I
had to turn the channel because it made me almost ill. I always
thought to myself that the people that were like that must have
grown up in some really messed up families. I have since changed
my mind and look at all people in a different light.

It's kinda strange how things can change 180 degrees when they
hit close to home. At first I really thought no good could
possibly come of this change that Daniel had made. He was my
brother for 16 years, 16 years is a long time to know someone and
then all of a sudden for them to change. The neighbor girl who
was a very close friend helped Danielle go through this
transformation and they became very close. I had known the
neighbor, Denise, for about two years and we were pretty good
friends. She helped me to understand a little about why Danielle
had done this, and was there to talk to about it when I needed
her. It almost felt a little like it was my fault that this had
happened because I had been there almost all the time and I let
this happen. I tried to think of where it could have gone wrong
and why this terrible thing had happened to us.

As time passed I got more comfortable with it and eventually even
got to the point where I could call her Danielle right to her
face. I visited my Mom several months ago and took Danielle to
the beach to stroll around the boardwalk. I enjoyed the time I
had with her immensely and know that it would have never been
nearly the same if I had taken her before she went through the
transformation. She had turned from a sort of mischievous boy
into the most wonderful girl anyone could know. My friend in
Phoenix saw her at graduation and instantly fell in love with her
and her lovely smile.

It now seems to me that she is very happy to be alive and
transmits that attitude to everyone she knows. I know from
stories my Mom tells me that she is very outgoing and meets new
people every day. Whenever I call, she is very excited about all
kinds of things that she is doing in her life and it just fills
my heart with pride because I can see the big smile on her face
and know the hard work and struggle she had had to deal with to
get to where she is. I know if you all knew her the way she is
now you would instantly be overwhelmed by the beaming attitude
she has toward life, and the courage and confidence she has in
herself to be a good person no matter what has happened.

Although at first I felt sorry for myself, I now consider myself
lucky to have a sister such as she is. Most people fight with
their sisters and don't appreciate them much. I think of how
proud I am of mine and know that this is one of the bravest and
most warm people I know, and it just so happens that she is my
sister. While most girls her age are worried about makeup and
perfume and how they won't live without a certain outfit, my
sister is enjoying life and bringing joy to those that know her.
She has grown up brave just like my Mom and she will be
unstoppable in whatever goals she set for herself and I will
stand behind her no matter what she decides.

This brings me to another subject I have to talk about. Some of
you may wonder why I am not married and do not really have any
serious girlfriends in my life so far. Well, any girl that I meet
and is a candidate has some very high expectations from me
because two of the women that I admire the most happen to be my
family members. That is my Mom and my sister and it will be hard
for any girls to come up to par against them. But then, half the
fun is finding that special girl that I know has to be out there
somewhere.
       Love,
         David

....

RE: MY NEW GRANDDAUGHTER

David did well to introduce us to his sister, Danielle. I used to
have eight grandsons and two granddaughters and now I have seven
grandsons and three granddaughters, and the most recent is the
oldest. That might be difficult to explain, but not after you
have met Danielle.

It has been a little more than a year since Evelyn told me that
her 15-year old son, Daniel, had revealed to her that he believed
he was really a girl. Almost immediately I said, "He has always
been a girl!"

You see, I have many memories of this special child. I remember a
small boy of about three years who often sat on the arm of the
couch combing and arranging his mother's long and curly hair. (He
was still styling her hair years later.) That small boy liked to
play with dolls and he saw some kind of value in a dismembered
Barbie doll in the toys that I kept for visiting children. On his
ninth birthday, his wish was for a doll with long hair and a pony
with a long mane - and the family fulfilled his wish. Several
times he had me help him make clothes for his doll. He would pick
out some material from the scrap box and together we would
fashion clothes. His choice of cloth was always the bright shiny
pieces.

In kindergarten when he was getting settled in a new school, I
asked how he liked it. He said, "It is beautiful! The colors are
so pretty." I didn't understand that statement until I had an
occasion to pick him up from school. Every schoolroom door around
the big court was painted a different color - pink, purple,
green, blue, yellow - so it was very colorful. He always
described textures, as well as colors, whenever it was
appropriate.

He never played any sports, except when he was involved in
acrobatic classes which seemed to fit him naturally. He did
exceptionally well with it.

This little grandson was extremely loving. I always got a big hug
when he came to visit, another when he left, and usually a time
or two during the stay. He was also very sensitive to other
people's feelings.

He could tell when someone was not feeling well or was angry or
uncomfortable.

At an age when most little boys were finding their best friends
from among the boys, his friends were girls. When he had a chance
to take two or three friends on an outing on his birthdays, he
always picked girls, and this pattern of having girls for his
close friends continued through junior high school.

Daniel was always close to his mother in ways that you would not
expect of a son. They appeared to have such fun together. When he
became old enough to be aware of his mother's clothes, he would
advise her on what to wear, and later she always took him along
to pick out new clothes for her wardrobe. Two years ago his
mother and I helped to host a bridal shower for a friend. Her
son, then 13 years old, arranged her hair. He used a small
chignon of curls on the back of her hair and with a ribbon,
blended it in with her own curls. The style was perfect with the
flower print and lace of her dress. She was pretty as a picture,
and Daniel appreciated and praised her beauty profusely.

He was the one in the family that would get the urge to clean and
straighten the house, and would get after his brothers to put
things away. As he started to think about his life work, he chose
interior decorating. At one time I sent him a subscription to an
interior decorating magazine, and I knew he liked to visit model
homes to look at the furnishings.

Those of us close to this special child recognized that he was
different, but had no clue as to the cause. He was very animated
as he talked, with unusual movements of his hands and body. As I
watched him walk, I sometimes thought, "Can't he walk like a boy?
Doesn't he know he walks like a girl?" He knew, because his
schoolmates teased him about his walk, and I know now that he
couldn't do anything about it. Now we see those same movements
and animation and feminine gait as perfect for a teenage girl.

The age at which Danielle made this drastic change was unusual,
for more often it is made much later in life. It wasn't a sudden
idea, for Evelyn knew some months before the announcement that
Daniel was emotionally upset. Some have wondered if a teenager of
16 years should be making this important decision. Consider this
question: At what point in life did you make the "decision" to be
male or female?

Many studies have been done to determine why girls act like girls
and boys like boys. From what I have read, it is not because
people expect girls to act like girls, but simply because that
behavior is genetically determined. Girls play with dolls, are
nurturing, and place great importance on relationships. Boy play
with cars and trucks, are competitive, and play ball. For more
information read, 'Brain Sex' by Mohr and Jessel.

I can identify with David's discomfort at listening to the
transsexuals on TV talk shows. It turned me off too, because I
figured there was something unhealthy and unbalanced about such
persons, and I still don't understand their desire to become
celebrities. I knew one woman that became a man after she had two
sons, and later became a woman again. She told her story on
national TV. But I have gained tolerance for those individuals
whose sexual orientation does not match their sexual organs
because of my close contact with Danielle. She does not want to
be given attention because she is a transsexual. She is a girl
and has always been a girl and doesn't want people to think about
anything else.

What I think is commendable is that Evelyn immediately sought
professional advice on how to assist Danielle to make the
transition in the way that was best for her. This led to
psychological testing, electrolysis, and hormone therapy -
treatments which were uncomfortable and sometimes painful for
Danielle. The fact that her brothers, cousins, aunts and uncles
on both sides of her family were supportive, with one or two
exceptions, is also commendable. Some who have had qualms about
getting acquainted with Danielle have had their doubts
immediately swept away when they meet the beautiful, vivacious,
out-going young lady. Even though I too, understood the situation
and knew it was right for Danielle, I have had a real problem
with the pronouns - he, she, him, her - but I am getting better
at it. I am so pleased to see her blossom scholastically and
socially, and her excitement about life is contagious. She has
courageously faced the necessary difficulties, and recognizes
that the road ahead won't be easy, but she is up to it. Life
sometimes uses strange ways to teach us tolerance and
understanding of persons who have problems different from our
own. How fortunate we are to be able to learn this lesson from
Danielle.

....

Dear Family,

Hello, My name is Danielle. I thought it was time I made an
introduction to the family since I am a recent addition to it. It
has taken be a long time to decide to introduce myself and am
happy that I have finally gotten a small grip of my confidence to
do so. I have been through many obstacles and challenges these
last three year, for that I owe to my soul searching ( my
happiness).

My mother is (as many know her) "Just Evelyn". Evelyn who I love,
cherish and give thanks for giving me life and happiness. She is
a very courageous women, hard worker, and one who has the biggest
heart not fully seen by everyone but when seen is never ending.
Through hard times and good my mother has raised three children:
although she may deny this honorable task, her children know the
truth.

I was born December 30, 1978. Since then I have lived two lives
that are completely different from each other. At the present I
am eighteen years old and very happy to be myself. I will be
entering my senior year this fall; I am looking forward to it. I
am living in Flagstaff, Arizona small town close to the grand
canyon. Flagstaff is a very beautiful town with mountains
surrounding it. It also has many trees. I have made good friends
since I have moved to this small town: friendships that are often
hard to find and I am glad for them for they have helped me to
understand myself & other people. I cannot say how happy I am for
some times it hurts and is hard to explain, but I know it is a
good feeling, that I have waited so long for, and I know it Will
not go away.

As most of my family knows and for those who do not, I am a
female now but I was born genetically a male. At the age of
fifteen I told my mother that I was unhappy being a male and that
I wished I could be a woman since I always felt like a women
inside me. My, mother was very shocked since she thought I would
grow up to be gay. The way I saw it was: I thought as myself
being a women and liking a man and the man liking me for being a
women so I did not feel gay. After I had told her it was like a
wall between us had been torn down. We became one that night as
daughter and mother. My mother knew that I was going to need her
more than ever, she was also going to need me for support.
Together my mother and I could do everything that we wished and
we were not going to back down.

I dressed up as a girl the day after I told my mother about me
really being a girl. My mother helped me get dressed up for the
first time, she didn't say it but I could tell she really enjoyed
it. My mother as a little girl I think never blossomed because
she had many restrictions. So my mother lived out her childhood
by watching me blossom into a very happy girl. When the shock had
gone away from telling her, my mother began a mission to find out
as much information as possible since I was anxious to start my
new life. We soon found out that my complete transformation was
going to take awhile. I had to first live full time as a women
for one year and have two counselors evaluate me before I could
have sex reassignment surgery (a sex change) I also had to change
schools so that I could start as a girl since at the school I was
they knew me as a boy. I was starting a new life. Those few weeks
after I told my mother we were creating a new person. A girl was
being born. Her name is Danielle.

On the date of June 27, 1996 I had my sex reassignment surgery in
Neenah, Wisconsin. My mother was very helpful to me during it and
I could not of done it without her. Clela Fuller, my grandmother
dropped in right after my surgery which made me very happy that I
had support from family. I was in the hospital nine days. On the
seventh day, I got up from bed rest. The surgery turned out to be
less painful than I had originally thought. A year has passed
since then and I've just gone through breast augmentation which
was very painful, but once again my mother was there to make it
as easy as possible on me. Now that I have done everything
surgery-wise, I am having fun blossoming into who I was always
supposed to be. I am dating guys and just having a great time. If
only you could all see my happiness.

Will always love everyone.
        Danielle

....