Transchick might not be healthy enough for a vaginoplasty surgery
"My goddamn penis would have to stay attached for the foreseeable future. Months? Forever?" At a doctor's appointment Stephanie "The Transchick" Haskins says she received devastating news that she might not be well enough to undergo "bottom surgery", stalling her transition and hopes for a vagina.
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Some womanly thoughts on misogyny, menstruation and the Male Gaze
The "Bubbas" of the world have made Stephanie "the Transchick" Haskins increasingly phobic about spending any time at all around "aging, ambulatory eggplants" (a.k.a men). Haskins also shares how her her transition has seemingly changed her sexual orientation.
(more)Fixing family, changing name, finding friends, fighting transphobic ‘allies’
As Stephanie "the Transchick" Haskins heals from her facial feminization surgery, she shares her struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts. She's learning how to leave between the extremes of euphoria and depression as she continues her transition.
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Rare brain disorder turns Chicago couple’s world upside down
Pete Odon and his wife Nancy were thrust into a perplexing medical nightmare six years ago when Pete began to inexplicably struggle with walking, balance, and uncontrollable body movements. His condition was finally diagnosed as Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a rare, incurable brain disorder. The Odons share their journey with The Reporters Inc. in hopes of bringing more, and much-needed attention to this disease.
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Finding the right help, from the right people
Stephanie "the Transchick" Haskins is getting some crucial care. She's three weeks into healing from her facial feminization surgery and is now lasering off her sun spots and body hair. Her smooth skin also came with a smooth recovery thanks to the transgender caregiving service T4T. (more)Identifying my true gender has been a journey decades in the making
"I just never felt, what I assumed, other boys felt. What they felt like." Stephanie "the Transchick" Haskins says identifying with her true gender has been a decades-long journey.
(more)Transgender journalist’s life story destined to become her most important
Stephanie Haskins is a young transgender woman who has lived a very long time. She considered herself to be a closeted gay man for most of her life, but after years of emotional turmoil and deep depression, she came out as transgender (male to female) in 2019. This is the first in an ongoing series of first-person accounts by Haskins for The Reporters Inc. that she’s calling “The Transchick Chronicles.”
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Cure for the pandemic blues only a call away
Minnesota-based non-profit Little Brothers--Friends of The Elderly (LBFE) have created a safe and low-tech solution to address the COVID-exacerbated loneliness felt among older adults. They call it “Coffee Talk.” It’s a volunteer-staffed call-in program in which participants connect with a compassionate listener using a technology that they easily understand: their telephone.
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People who don't wear masks put others at risk
Writer Tim Munkeby and his wife were shopping for essentials--masks firmly in place on their faces--when he noticed a middle-aged, unmasked lady clearly violating the store's rules. "By following the rules, and the laws, we're protecting both ourselves and others," Munkeby writes. "By defying them, we're not."
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Sufferers say COVID-19 is unpredictable, freakish, lingering and recurrent
"For many, it's hard to know what to expect from one day to the next after COVID-19, or if they'll ever fully recover." Reporter Kim Whiting shares the stories of four people and their families, including herself, who experienced COVID-19 symptoms ranging from asymptomatic to critical. Their experiences underscore how unpredictable the virus truly is.
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One man shares his COVID-19 nightmare
54-year-old Steve Olson details how he contracted COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic, his symptoms, and the lingering impacts on his health and mobility. In month by month diary entries, his story underscores the terrifying, dystopian nature of this unpredictable virus.
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Welcoming new life during a global health crisis
Imagine being pregnant during a global pandemic. What would you do? How would you keep you and your baby safe? That's been Laura Friedrich's reality since the COVID-19 pandemic started when she was five months pregnant. In July 2020, Friedrich and her husband, Scott, welcomed their healthy baby girl. Rashanah Baldwin interviews these proud first-time parents about how they managed pregnancy and birth during this difficult time.
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Will America's favorite pastime go down swinging?
Reporter Alana Schreiber, a diehard baseball fan, is not excited for the upcoming season. "With only 60 games scheduled, instead of 162, and with the ongoing danger that players, coaches and managers will end up sick with COVID-19, there seems to be too much risk involved and not enough return," she writes.
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Social distancing upon return to the golf course
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers gave golfers the green light to resume play, but with restrictions. Jerry Huffman returns to the course to test out this "new normal," and to see if society is ready to follow the rules. "If we're ever going to emerge from the shutdowns controlling our own lives, we must show society that we're ready for the responsibility," Huffman writes.
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Prominent PBS journalist documents his descent into mental illness
After a routine yellow fever vaccine required for an assignment in Africa, BBC (and later PBS) foreign correspondent Malcolm Brabant suddenly descended into madness--literally. Following a near-fatal fever, he spent months in and out of hospitals and psychiatric wards, convinced he was either God or Satan. He came perilously close to harming himself and his family. All the while, he recorded some of his bizarre unraveling on camera, and he has now turned this alarming journey into a fascinating new documentary, Malcolm is a Little Unwell. The Reporters Inc. engaged in a recent Q&A with Brabant to find out more.
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