How my grandfather’s war wounds shaped my belief that transgender youth deserve care • Nebraska Examiner

On Father’s Day, I thought about the men who have played important roles in my life. I also thought about the patients in my care who are transgender and nonbinary. These thoughts were connected because without the men whose values ​​shaped me, I would not be the doctor I am.

As a primary care physician, I have helped develop treatments, policies, and protocols for LGBTQIA2S+, gender nonconforming, and transgender patients. Yet recently, politicians have ignored scientific evidence and all major medical professional associations that support access to healthcare for transgender people, including three states that have severely restricted or plan to severely restrict adult transition care.

My home state of Nebraska is one of 25 states that have passed laws restricting or banning medical care for transgender youth.

Due to our state’s regulations and restrictions, several of my adult transgender patients have moved out of Nebraska, and all parents who have a trans youth in their care are planning to leave the state.

This strategy of using marginalized groups as a political football is exactly what my male ancestors and others of their generation fought against.

Both of my grandfathers served for our country in World War II. Grandpa Dworak was wounded in an explosion while serving on a minesweeper in the Pacific; he lost his hearing. Grandpa Camerato didn’t talk much about the war, but my mother said he mentioned having shrapnel in his leg from an explosion; For this bravery he received a Bronze Star.

My father also lives these values ​​and passed them on to me. He kept his oath to use his medical training, compassion and dedication to help his patients make the best medical decisions for them. In his more than 40-year career as a radiologist, he was never told by a politician without medical qualifications how to practice medicine. I cannot say the same for myself.

There is a solid and well-supported body of evidence, developed over decades, that shows that individualized and age-appropriate care for transgender people, including transgender youth, improves mental health and overall well-being. I have seen these benefits in my patients, particularly one.

This patient’s medical appointments include a discussion of treatment goals and medical risks and benefits, and he also sees a psychologist. This patient wears a gender-affirming hairstyle and clothing. He just wants to go to school and be with friends like any other kid, but now his parents are wrestling with whether Nebraska is the right place for them.

Seventy-two percent of Americans say “politicians don’t know enough about gender-equitable health care to make appropriate policies.” Granted, opinions vary on allowing health care for teens, but that’s to be expected in an age when so many distortions and half-truths are circulating.

I will stay in Nebraska and fight for the right to health care. I will continue to educate medical colleagues, politicians, and everyone else. I believe in my home state and I believe in the United States that my grandparents made great sacrifices to protect.

We must do more to understand how depriving people of freedoms and adequate healthcare degrades us all. As my grandfathers showed me, protecting everyone’s freedom reflects the best ideals of fatherhood and America.