Briton to undergo sex change at age 80

Ruth Rose used to be called James. Today, aged 80 and a grandfather of four, he will become the oldest person in Britain to have the sex change procedure. And it will cost him approximately 22000 USD.

Ruth, a formal Royal Air Force officer, told British newspaper The Sun, how she has dreamed of being a woman from the age of nine.

But it is only now at the age of 80 and after a successful flying career that she plans to pursue her will.

“It’s gorgeous to be who I am at long last. My life has blossomed beyond all recognition since I made the decision,” Ruth, of Newhaven, East Sussex was quoted by the Sun as saying.

Doctors have scheduled the surgery for October next year, after Ruth turns 80, at London’s Charing Cross Hospital. In the meantime, she is being treated with a hormone therapy.

Ruth told The Sun: “I just want to get on with it. I’m old enough not to bother about sex - that’s not my motive. The modern climate is one of understanding and tolerance so you don’t have to pretend you are something you’re not.”

James got married in 1961. But from the 1970s, James began to spend more time as Ruth, dressing as a woman, The Sun reported.

She said: “My wife found out, which was embarrassing, but from that point I was very open about it.”

The couple divorced in 2003 after 42 years of marriage but are still close.