Medical field plays catch
Jacob Bilstein
The California wildfires were still raging last fall as Jennifer Bilstein and her 15-year-old son inched their way down Highway 101  a two-hour drive in ordinary times that took four hours through the smoke-filled air and yellow sky. She was determined to get  Jacob  to  his  doctor's appointment on time.
It was  his  second visit to the adolescent gender clinic  where  Jacob - a  shy boy with pink cheeks  a cowlick and black oversize glasses - was being medically evaluated to begin taking testosterone.
 He  had already gone through puberty as a girl  an experience that made  him  conclude  he  had been born into the wrong gender. "I was always uncomfortable calling myself 'she' or 'her ' "  he  explained. "It made my skin crawl."
At 13   Jacob - then  called Samantha - had informed  his  mother  sending her the news in a Facebook message after being dropped off at school one morning in Ukiah  one of Northern California's iconic hippie towns.
As she spoke  her child studied his hands  legs swinging back and forth under the examining table. "But the reality is that  Jacob 's my child  and regardless of gender or whatever  my child always comes first in my life " she said. "And realistically  it's not about me. It's about Jake."
It is also one of the busiest  encompassing four disciplines: Medical  mental health  patient advocacy and legal services. Although surgery is not available at the center  its clinicians maintain close ties with local surgeons to whom they refer patients upon request. On the day that  Jacob  arrived for  his  appointment  the examining rooms were filled with 15 elementary schoolchildren  adolescents and teenagers who had traveled from as far away as Hawaii and Sweden and as nearby as the Bay Area. All were seeking a change in their physical sex characteristics to align with their gender identity.
 Family Photo Jacob Bilstein  went through puberty as a girl named Samantha.  Jacob Bilstein  went through puberty as a girl named Samantha. (Family Photo) (Family Photo)
The California wildfires were still raging last fall as Jennifer Bilstein and her 15-year-old son inched their way down Highway 101  a two-hour drive in ordinary times that took four hours through the smoke-filled air and yellow sky. She was determined to get  Jacob  to  his  doctor's appointment on time.
It was  his  second visit to the adolescent gender clinic  where  Jacob - a  shy boy with pink cheeks  a cowlick and black oversize glasses - was being medically evaluated to begin taking testosterone.
 He  had already gone through puberty as a girl  an experience that made  him  conclude  he  had been born into the wrong gender. "I was always uncomfortable calling myself 'she' or 'her ' "  he  explained. "It made my skin crawl."
At 13   Jacob - then  called Samantha - had informed  his  mother  sending her the news in a Facebook message after being dropped off at school one morning in Ukiah  one of Northern California's iconic hippie towns.
As she spoke  her child studied his hands  legs swinging back and forth under the examining table. "But the reality is that  Jacob 's my child  and regardless of gender or whatever  my child always comes first in my life " she said. "And realistically  it's not about me. It's about Jake."
It is also one of the busiest  encompassing four disciplines: Medical  mental health  patient advocacy and legal services. Although surgery is not available at the center  its clinicians maintain close ties with local surgeons to whom they refer patients upon request. On the day that  Jacob  arrived for  his  appointment  the examining rooms were filled with 15 elementary schoolchildren  adolescents and teenagers who had traveled from as far away as Hawaii and Sweden and as nearby as the Bay Area. All were seeking a change in their physical sex characteristics to align with their gender identity.
  [TGT] went through puberty as a girl named Samantha.   [TGT]   went through puberty as a girl named Samantha. (Family Photo) (Family Photo)