Made a tweet about it. Hope someone with personal experience come by. I'm only experienced with the gender identity, but not the sex identity. Not sure what kind of help you're truly looking for. Wish I had a way of contacting an old college friend of mine who's best friend had an operation to go from man into woman. He said the social awkwardness she got in public was taking a lot to get used to and frequently needed the support of those not only close, but also comfortable (with the change) to help with her adjustments (part of that might have also been from some of the estrogen medication she was on during the transition). I'm not sure but I think I remember him saying that she told him she practically lost relations with her parents and family members because of it too (not everyone is as open-minded as us). If this is a close friend of yours going through the tough choice of to get an operation or not, you'll know how best to comfort them. As much as I can say, it's probably healthier to get a sex change if you feel wrong with the body you were born with. On so many levels, trying to deny the aspect of "self" that we all have is one of the most detrimental things we can do to ourselves. Who ever does that change just needs to learn whom they can depend on for support and keep in mind that not everyone is ready to view/interact with gender/sex identity people.

(I just remembered there's a fur that worked at my store but quit before i joined. I'm told he's the girl i've sometimes come across at local fur meets. I'm going to see If anyone at work still has her contact info.)

What exactly are you looking for? And does this assistance pertain to a transwoman or a transman? I'm a transman, specifically I consider myself transsexual for what it's worth, and while I'm not in that area (I'm in CO), I'd be glad to offer support and advice where I can.

I would suggest for any transperson, particularly transwomen, to look up PrincessJoules on YT. She's pretty in-depth about her experience, and excruciatingly open about what it means to be trans, in a very informative, classy, and fun way. She tends to answer a lot of questions that most people have, be it about what it means to be a transwoman, about male to female surgeries and her experiences with them as well as where she got them etc., and how she reacts to people who don't really understand what it means to be trans, how she reacts to being what she calls "clocked" and I call "outted in public," and a whole lot more. She's a fantastic person, and even though I've been going through medical transition for like 4 years now, I still watch her videos because they're that entertaining.

Speaking of YT, looking to the YT community is a huge suggestion of mine. I don't have any trans friends and barely know anyone in the area whose trans, I don't personally feel comfortable at pride festivals and the like, and I have a very unique perspective and approach to my life as a transperson (I don't feel a need to be out and prideful about it, but I also don't feel a need to hide it when it's relevant and appropriate to bring up, but ultimately it's more of a private life detail that I keep to myself majority of the time). I found that due to this, YT was a very comfortable place to go. I could watch the videos by people I wanted to see, I could ignore the ones that didn't pertain to me personally, I could get questions answered and most of the time I didn't have to even talk to people if I didn't want to. I feel more comfortable talking to people in person if I ever felt a need to talk to people about my experiences and such since it's just such a personal topic, of which I could easily find through my therapist and the LGBT center in downtown Denver if I needed/wanted to. I'm sure therapists in other states can do the same thing - like offer group therapy sessions, etc. - and could direct your friend towards local support centers if there are any in your area.

Most importantly: I avoided tumblr like the plague, and I suggest you and your friend do the same. I'm specifically referring to the LGBT support side of tumblr, the side of tumblr SJW's tred on and the side of tumblr most people make fun of/have harsh stereotypes towards.3 I used to like tumblr, and I used to be drawn to the LGBT stuff there, but these days it's a humdrum of hyper-sensitivity and victim complexes and "signal boosts" for just negative crap nobody really needs to be informed about and just general BS that is well worth steering clear of, most particularly when you're working so hard on yourself and figuring yourself out. Tumblr is chock full of labels, half of them real and half of them just random ass crap some kid made up because they felt left out. It's confusing, it's negative, and it's unnecessary. Just avoid it, at the very least until you are confident enough in yourself to not let someone else confuse you about your identity, and don't forget to use your critical thinking skills if you ever decide to go there.