Taylor's Top Surgery Fund

Hi everyone, my name is Taylor, I am a 20-year-old female-to-male transexual, and this campaign is to help me fund my top surgery.

My Story:
I was born in Michigan, and raised by my two incredible parents. Owners of a family furniture store, they worked hard, and we lived a pretty comfortable middle-class life.

I went through grade school a thriving student, but began to struggle when I hit junior high. Puberty set in, and I developed intense anxiety and depression. Stuck and confused, my parents did the best they knew how to get me through those stressful years, and after attending therapy regularly for a few years I came out to them as transgender in 2010.

They were supportive, and after a little over a year of gender therapy I was able to begin hormone therapy. I was ecstatic, and began to feel myself living again.

Unfortunately disaster was also brewing in this time as the economy plummeted, and the family business we'd owned for over six decades was forced out of business in 2012. For the first time in our lives we had to change.

My dad took a minimum wage job at a department store, while my mom became a secretary for the local school district. My transition stopped, we sold our boat, got rid of our television service, and eventually sold our house. We moved into a camper while my parents, both working full time, converted a part of the old furniture store into our new home.

The remodel took away most of what we got for the sale of our house and numerous other belongings, but we again had a home- A home with a parking lot, but a home nonetheless.

In the time that followed we adjusted to life on a much smaller paycheck. My dad was eventually able to become a truck driver and rise slightly above his minimum wage job. I was able to resume hormone therapy, and decided to go to community college.

Why I Need Help:
As you may or may not know, Gender Identity Disorder is a real and serious condition. Although hormones have helped a lot, my body still holds parts that cause me great mental and social distress.

Each day I bind my chest, some days tighter than others, using a number of different compression shirts and methods. I bind tightly for school, outings with friends whose parents are conservative, and even at home when my niece and nephew come over, who know me only as their uncle.

All that binding is not only painful, but poses limitations in my everyday life. I haven't gone swimming in 5 years, I experience regular anxiety when I feel I'm not bound enough. I skip out on outings with friends and family for fear of not passing. I evade posting photos of my body where my chest is visible, and cringe when I have to hug even my closest friends. Using public bathrooms is a daily struggle, along with fitting rooms and a variety of other unsafe spaces.

Seeing my difficulty, my parents want to help me achieve my goal of having top surgery, and with their encouragement I've contacted Dr. Medalie, a well-known surgeon in Cleveland. His surgical costs run $6,500-$7,500, but with financing through CareCredit my parents and I hope to manage a payment plan for this expensive procedure, so that I may have the surgery done in 2015.

Despite their optimism, my parents are still far from wealthy, and though they don't want to ask for it, we could use help to afford this procedure while simultaneously affording our day-to-day needs. I've been continuously applying for jobs since I graduated high school, but never get past the first interview, possibly due to my transgender status, as I am unable to claim myself as legally male until I have completed surgery, so my appearance and voice contradict my female status on the application.

I'm making this campaign in the hope that anyone who is able will be willing to give us a boost toward our goal, and offer some optimism in a time where we need it.

If you have the means, a donation would be extremely appreciated. If you don't have any funds to give, a share on any of your social networks could prove just as valuable.

Thank you for taking the time to hear my story.