Road to Top Surgery!

Hi! I am Boulder, and I am a 30-year-old non-binary individual living in the US. I spent my youth struggling with many things and barely making it through. As I've grown into the adult I've become, I've learned so much about myself and embracing those different aspects has given me a new quality of life I never thought possible.

Coming out and living as Non-binary, even in today's society, who by and large still don't quite get it, changed my life for the better. As I have transitioned socially and begun Hormone Replacement Therapy, I have finally started feeling safe and at home in my own body.

Now.

The next part of this process is the more difficult and expensive aspect. Being an AFAB (assigned female at birth) individual, my next step in my transition is surgical. I will get top surgery, or a double mastectomy, to complete my medical transition. This involves multiple preliminary appointments, finding a reputable surgeon, hopefully getting it partially covered by insurance, and then weeks of intense healing following the procedure. I am so incredibly excited because I have already started the process! I have my first assessment scheduled for November 28 to sit down and speak with the team. This will be followed by two more appointments of similar caliber (sitting down and going thoroughly through the process), followed by a surgical consult and then the surgery. I will also have to take a week or so off work to rest up and heal afterward.

Unfortunately, due to my insurance coverage and the style of these first three preliminary visits, they are not covered at all.

I will have to pay $200 per visit out of pocket before even speaking with a surgeon. Additionally, the surgery is often not fully covered, and from my research into other people's experience, I am likely going to have to pay at least $6000 out of pocket for the procedure itself.

And so, I am reaching out to my amazing and supportive community for help reaching my transition goals. I am thrilled and incredibly proud to have figured this part of my life out, and I cannot wait for the money not to be the obstacle keeping me from being my best self.

Any help towards this steep goal is so appreciated. I know I have a long road to raising enough money, but I'm ready to begin.