“Gender Care is Life-Saving Care” Ace Lennox Shares Their Story

It was 2022 and Ace Lennox was done living their life as someone else. “I thought, I’m done not living as myself,” recalled Ace.  “I want to make myself happy.”

“I was not going down a good path mentally,” they explained. “I needed to make a change.”

Ace sat down to look for resources in the community and came across Durham Community Health Centre’s Gender Care team. After attending some Gender Affirming Chats, Ace got in touch with Mellanie Kant, a Nurse Practitioner with the Gender Care Interprofessional Care Team. On March 31, 2022, the Trans Day of Visibility, Ace Lennox began their transition with testosterone therapy.

“It was a huge weight off my shoulders,” exclaimed Ace. “Every step in my transition really feels like another weight off my shoulders.”

“Mellanie was amazing,” continued Ace. “Her and the other nurses there were really nice and helpful.”

As Ace moved through their transition, they noted how empowering the gender affirming care was, mentioning that many misconceptions about gender care were simply untrue.

“I feel like a lot of people think this is forced or rushed through,” explained Ace. “That couldn’t be further from the truth. Every choice I make is mine. Every decision has been talked about thoroughly with the practitioners, and now we’ve included my family doctor. The pros, cons, and misconceptions are always discussed before any decisions are made.”

In 2023 Ace returned to DCHC to speak at the Transgender Day of Remembrance.

“I chose to speak because gender care services offer visibility,” said Ace. “Knowing that there are people out there who can help us is huge because there’s a lot of discrimination within the medical community for trans people. There’s a lot of despair and not knowing what to do for the first step, places like DCHC are helpful because they offer a safe space for that first step.”

Ace went on to position Community Health Centres as important bastions of visibility for all community members.

“There are children out there who need to know that there are people out there who support them,” said Ace. “So having support from a team, or at least mental support, like emotional support, that could be a lot for someone who just needs their name, gender, or their pronouns affirmed.”

Asked why Gender Care is important in healthcare, Ace laid out the impact of gender affirming care very candidly.

“I’m not sure if I would be here [without it],” admitted Ace. “Gender affirming care is life-saving care. I don’t want to see another trans life lost.”

Ace, who works as a flight attendant, and lives happily in Pickering, now spends their free time volunteering and speaking at community events to ensure all community members feel seen, valued, and empowered to live their own authentic life.

“I wouldn’t be here without [The Gender Care Team at DCHC]” exclaimed Ace. “I think that can be said for a lot of people. Gender affirming care is life-saving care and I think that’s something that everybody needs to know. Funding this work saves lives. The Gender Care Team saves lives.”

If you or someone you know has questions about gender, or gender care, please visit the Gender Care page on our website.