INCREDIBLE COURAGE OF SHE-MAN: Gender-Reassignment Man Was Really Woman With Rare Condition That Gave Her Male Parts

A ‘man’ who went for a sex change was stunned to discover she was actually a woman with ovaries and a womb who had been born with a rare condition that gave her a penis.

Ana Hellen Mena, 28, poses in undated photo. She found out that she is intersex when she was going to change her sex at the age of 26, in Estepona, Spain. (@anahellenmena/Newsflash)

Ana Hellen Mena, 28, was born resembling a boy when she arrived in Estepona, Spain, and was given the name Sergio by her mother.

But even when growing up, ‘Sergio’ always felt like a girl, she revealed.

She later came out as trans to her family and decided to have a sex change when she was 26 years old.

But she was baffled when she was told during a medical consultation that she actually had a rare condition called ’46,XX testicular difference of sex development’.

The condition causes a person with two X chromosomes – usually a female – to have a male appearance, specifically male external genitalia.

Ana told local media: “I was shocked, at the age of 26, I discovered who I really was.”

Medics believe birth control pills her mother was taking before she realised she was pregnant may have caused Ana’s condition.

She confessed: “I’ve felt like a woman since I was nine years old, ever since I can remember, but at that time, I wasn’t able to say so.”

Ana says she was bullied at school, causing her to drop out of sixth form, although she later resumed her studies.

She also recalled suffering symptoms associated with periods aged 11, but doctors did not test her at the time.

Picture shows Ana Hellen Mena, 28, when she was Sergio, in undated photo. She found out that she is intersex when she was going to change her sex at the age of 26, in Estepona, Spain. (@anahellenmena/Newsflash)

She told local media: “They said it wasn’t possible because I was under 14 years old.”

Ana finally came out as trans when she was 21.

Later, when she began transitioning, baffled doctors discovered she had ovaries and fallopian tubes.

She said: “I found out who I was when he told me I’d never been Sergio, that I had female organs, that I was already how I felt.”

Ana recalled how the doctor’s words made her feel “free”.

She said: “I’ve been bullied for being gay, when I could have always been Ana Hellen since I was little, it has been very difficult for me.

“This has made me stronger, I’ve learned to love my body as it is.”

Ana has a scrotum but no testicles, a uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes. She also has a clitoris and labia. However, they resemble a micropenis.

She says she decided in the end not to undergo a sex-change op.

Ana Hellen Mena, 28, (right) poses with unidentified woman in undated photo. She found out that she is intersex when she was going to change her sex at the age of 26, in Estepona, Spain. (@anahellenmena/Newsflash)

She told local media: “My operation is very easy, more than that of a transsexual person, but the loss of sensitivity makes me concerned.

“I love my body as it is, this doesn’t make me feel less of a woman.”

Since Ana has gone public with her story, she says people with similar conditions have reached out to her.

She told local media: “By helping others in this process, it has been worth sharing my story.”