Help me get bottom surgery! [Transgender]

Hey folks! My name is Kale, and I'm a 33-year-old transman whose been recently approved for Gender Reassignment Surgery (GRS), aka bottom surgery! This is equal parts terrifying and exciting. But all that will be meaningless if I can't afford to even get to the hospital for the surgery. While OHIP covers the cost of the surgery they do not cover travel expenses or aftercare. Since my surgery is going to be happening over 4 stages in the Crane Center in Texas over the next 2 years I'm expecting an estimated cost of around 20k over those 2 years.

The first procedure will be one of the more expensive ones, as I will be required to spend 4 weeks of aftercare in Texas. With flights to Texas being around 700$, and an Airbnb around 5k for a month, I'm estimating my total costs will be around 6-7k for this first procedure. Before I can even think about the surgery I also need to get laser hair removal done, which is an additional cost not covered by OHIP. A quick google search gives me an estimate of around 500$ for all the procedures, which isn't bad! And it's something I intend to get started as soon as possible.

While I intend to save up as much as I can between now and the surgery date - which is slotted for some time this fall - with the way the economy has been I've been barely managing to cover my bills most months. So I'd be lying if I said I wasn't stressed about my finances. The last thing I want is to have to cancel the surgery after waiting years to get it because I can't afford the airfare, that would be devastating.

My income tends to be more unstable than most people because I am a self-employed artist making luxury costumes, aka Fursuits! However with us in a recession, few people have the disposable income needed to afford such luxuries. This leaves me with little income, despite a full workload.

Which leads me to here. I'm reaching out to the wider community, in hopes of raising some funds to help cover my expenses. Or at the very least raising awareness about the lack of support for out-of-country care. I'm extremely grateful to OHIP for funding my surgery, as it's something I could never do on my own, and without them, this would never have been possible. However, the lack of support for those who get their surgeries outside of the country is somewhat vexing. That said, any amount I can raise will help lessen the financial burden, though the more I can raise the better. As I still need to figure out how to pay my regular bills while I'm out of work.

With everything said and done I would like to ask for your support. The best way you can support me would be to commission me! I'd love to bring your character to life and help make your dreams and thus my own come true. I realize this will not be possible for everyone, given how things are, however, if even one person can commission me, that'd be a huge help!

That said if you do feel like donating I would be eternally grateful. I know it's a lot to ask for, and truth be told I'm not one for asking for this kind of thing. I generally prefer to earn my keep, but given the limited time available to me I'm fearful I won't be able to do this on my own. So if you can spare a dollar, I'd be grateful. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and if you happen to see me at Furnal Equinox this weekend, please don't be shy and come say hi! Thank you. =)