Help Bridget Bounce Back From A Health Setback

Hi there!

I'm Bridget. You may remember me from such crowdfunding campaigns as "Help Me Get My Name Legally Changed" and "Help Me Move Out Of An Emotionally Abusive Environment."

(Look, if I don't crack jokes about this, I'm going to fall apart. Bear with me here.)

So earlier this year I had gender-affirming feminizing top surgery (aka "breast augmentation"). This was spread over two procedures-- a mastopexy performed in January 2021 and a bilateral augmentation with implants in October 2021. Everything seemed to be going well and I was looking forward to not having to deal with surgery-related things for a quite a while.

And then about a week after the second procedure in October, I developed an infection that led to my right implant being removed.

I'm currently recovering from that procedure. Physically, I'm doing as well as can be expected. Emotionally, I'm a wreck.

The current plan is to replace the implant once I've fully healed from both the infection and the procedure. Most likely this would be happening in early February 2022.

Because it would be happening in a new calendar year, my insurance deductible and my out-of-pocket maximum will have reset. As things stand, I will be on the hook for about $1500.

Before this happened, I had plans to take another swing at grad school. My hope was to begin work towards a Masters of Social Work in Fall 2023. To do that, I'll need to spend 2022 paying down some old student loan debt and generally get my financial affairs in order. This sudden need to have surgery again in early 2022 may derail my plans.

Simply put: I can pay off debts and work towards going back to grad school, OR I can pay for the out-of-pocket costs for this new surgery in February. I can't do both.

But I really want to do both. And in order to do that, I need your help.

So I'm doing YET ANOTHER crowdfunding campaign to cover my out-of-pocket costs for the procedure. If I can get another community lift towards this medical need, I won't have to choose between pursuing a career that lets me serve marginalized folks and living in a body that feels comfortable and affirming.

Any funds raised beyond what I need to pay medical bills will be redirected to Brave Space Alliance, a Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ community center on Chicago's South Side.