Ryan's Gender Affirmation Surgery Fund

Hey everyone! Thanks for taking the time to visit my page. This is SUPER vulnerable and as one of my buddies said, brave, of me. So today, I'm asking for help! Those of y'all that know me personally know that I will go above and beyond for my friends and family (even strangers!). I'm the kind of guy that would give you the shirt off my back and not ask for or expect anything in return. Today though I do have an ask and I'm hoping you'll be willing to help me out. 

So here goes the ask! Though this surgery is necessary for me, it is unfortunately very expensive and not covered by my health insurance. I also have to travel out of state for the surgery so there are many costs associated besides just the surgery itself. I've saved up quite a bit for it and am hoping with the help of my amazing network I can reach my goal! My goal of this fundraiser is to raise $9500 which will go towards the surgery itself ($8000) plus lodging ($900) and travel ($600). Every little bit counts, even if it's $5. I appreciate anything you're able to do. Anything I have leftover will be donated to The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth.

Here's a little bit about me and the reason I'm asking for help. Last year (2021), I did something that I've been thinking about for YEARS (and I mean YEARS) and I finally came out as transgender and started to take steps to feel more at home in my body. It took many years of questions and doubts and wondering whether I could do this very brave thing that I had always thought about doing. Since I was a little kid I felt different and just didn't have the words or language to express how I was feeling. I knew that being assigned female at birth didn't ever feel right. I was labeled as a tom boy when I was a kid and was told I'd grow out of it. I never did and only just adjusted and conformed to the expectations placed on me. Overtime, it became harder and harder to keep living in a way that just didn't totally feel right. I kept trying to be somebody I wasn't and just continually became more unhappy and it got harder to do. As I reached the end of my 20s and was in a more supportive space personally and professionally, I knew that I was ready to transition.

 

SO here I am now, just turned 30 and living my best life! I'm a PhD student at the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!) and am getting married later this year. I am blessed to have the support of my partner, family, friends and colleagues and consider myself very lucky and grateful for that. Though I've taken steps to affirm my gender (thank you HRT) for a year now, I still have a necessary change to make that I know will help me to feel more at home in my body. Long story short, some folx assigned female at birth may decide to undergo what's called "Top Surgery" to remove breast tissue in a desire to have a chest that resembles what is typical of a person assigned male at birth. People have different language and desires for what this surgery might mean for them (**I encourage you to do some research on gender affirmation surgeries if this is a new topic for you as this isn't meant to be educational rather a brief explanation on what it means for me**). For me, it will mean I can finally wear board shorts at the beach with no shirt on just like I've always wanted to since I was a kid. It will also mean that I can get married feeling affirmed in my body and gender without having to wear a binder (whoo hoo!). Binding and wearing sports bras for years has really impacted my mental and physical health and I CANNOT wait to not have to do that anymore.

 

Thank you for reading the short version of my story and for the time you've already invested in me.  I appreciate you and am forever grateful. Seriously, from the bottom of my heart thank you.

Love,
Ryan