Please Help Me Afford Top Surgery!

Hey there! My name is Moe, I'm 24 years old, a practicing artist, and an avid lover of plants, music, and baking.

I'm also a trans man.

I came out of the closet when I was a dysphoric, jittery 14 year old, and since then I have been fighting to exist in a body and in a world that has never truly felt like my own. At the time, coming out caused a lot of difficulty with my community, school, and family. To this day, my parents do not accept me as the man I am, though they have improved leaps and bounds from their initial reactions to my coming out. Their lack of acceptance and active pushback delayed my transition by years, and by the time I finally began physically transitioning, I found myself at 20 years old. I began hormone replacement therapy in February of 2019 against my parents' wishes, out of my own pocket, and it was the best decision I have ever made. I feel as though I am finally creating a body I can begin to exist fully in as myself.

Over the years, I've had many mental health issues, the largest of which being severe treatment resistant MDD (major depressive disorder) and severe PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). I rely on a handful of medications to stay functional. I rely on my parents' insurance to get these medications, as I was not and am not in the financial position to get my own insurance, especially with $750 worth of school loans due every month. This insurance fully covers top surgery at no cost to either my parents or I, so when I moved out of their home in the summer of 2022, I collected letters of recommendation, attended several appointments, and finally, finally got scheduled for maybe the biggest event of my life - top surgery in October of 2022.

However, it was not to be. When I told my parents of this, they told me that if I went through with the surgery, they would completely remove me from their insurance in the days before I could get the procedure done, leaving me not only without any means to acquire the medication I need to be mentally functional and safe, but also with a massive cancellation fee from the surgeon I had hoped to see. The whole thing was a disaster, but one I had to silently swallow for fear of losing access to vital medication.

It was with this event that I had to endure my tenth consecutive year of feeling like my body is not only not mine, but actively fighting against me. Another year of hunching and slouching to hide my chest, of not being able to work out in a gym or swim in a pool like any normal guy because I can't take off my shirt or wear tank tops, of showering with my eyes closed, of wanting to peel off my skin every time a hot day or a shirt that was too tight made me all the more cognizant of this hurdle that I was so close to overcoming and this body that still doesn't reflect me as it should. For this, and for an assault I suffered back in May, it's been one of the worst years of my life, but I am intent on moving forward. So, I turn to you, reading this now.

To be able to get this surgery I would need to pay out of pocket, which would be impossible on my own. But, getting this surgery would be absolutely life changing for me. Not only would I finally have the freedom to be able to enjoy the gym, the beach, the pool, and the summer without restriction, but the simplest things would be better for me. I could finally wear any clothes I want (even tank tops!), I could shower without dysphoria, I could stand without slumping over, I could breathe without the restriction of a binder. I could get one giant step closer to physically being myself. So please, if you have anything to spare, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thank you for reading!