Farmington Hills family helps teen daughter transition to teen boy

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – A Farmington Hills family is going public for the first time about their teenage child transitioning from female to male.

Roz and Richard Keith never forgot the day they first brought home their baby girl from the hospital. They named her Olivia.

"Physically, she looked female," said Roz Keith. "There wasn't any reason to question it."

Throughout the early years of Olivia's life, Roz noticed some things about Olivia that made her wonder if there was something else going on.

"Olivia was definitely not a girly girl," said Roz Keith. "She was very much a tomboy. Really rough and tumble, would much rather jump all over the babysitter and camp counselors and play with Legos or what people would call more traditional boy toys."

One night, something undeniable happened.

"There was a moment when she was sitting in the bathtub," said Roz Keith. "I was keeping her company, and this little voice popped up, 'Mom, I'm a boy.'"

That moment always stuck with Roz though it never came up again - until about two years ago.

"That's when she said to me, 'Yes Mom, I am going for a more masculine look Mom,'" said Roz Keith. "I'm transgender."

That's when Olivia changed her name to Hunter.

"I was just never happy," said Hunter. "I didn't want to leave the house. I had anxiety levels like crazy and I didn't know what to do."

It has been a struggle the Keith family hasn't publicly talked about until now.

"It's hard to talk about because I still think for me, and maybe it's true for everybody in the family, but it's still a process," Richard Keith said. "It's still something we're learning to accept."

Roz and Richard made the decision to start helping their then 14-year-old transition from a teenage girl into a teenage boy.

"That was the sadness for me was that he was struggling and that he wasn't becoming this lovely young woman that I expected him to find," Roz Keith said.

Dr. Antonia Caretto is a therapist who specializes in helping transgender teens and adults.

"I say to parents, did you know at 14 or 16 if you were male or female?" said Caretto. "You knew and so your kid knows that as well. This is not a choice. The choice is what to do about it. For many people, it's a choice between do I live or do I die."

For the first time in a long time, the Keiths say Hunter really has changed.

"He's a beautiful kid. He's so beautiful and I just see him thrive and live his life and be happy," Roz Keith said. "I don't want anyone to stand in the way of that."

The Keith family hopes sharing their emotional journey will help other families understand the real meaning of acceptance.

"For the people who say they'll never accept their kid if they came out to them as transgender," Hunter said. "Do you love your child or do you love the image that you had of your child?"

The Keith family's website offers content and support for families with transgender children.

More info: StandWithTrans.org