Loose Skin Removal Surgery

Howdy,

My name is Cara, and I am hoping to raise money to help cover the costs of loose skin removal surgery.

I am 27 years old and have lost 140+ pounds thanks to bariatric surgery and a complete lifestyle change. Due to the nature of my situation l have mass amounts of loose skin hanging off my body that causes a lot of discomfort, emotional distress, and rashes. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to get insurance to find this procedure as “medically necessary” and cover it, which is very unaffordable. The skin is only removable through surgery which multiple doctors have confirmed is the case. Going from 287 pounds to 140 pounds is a drastic change and my skin’s elasticity couldn’t keep up with the dramatic weight loss. I want to preface this by saying by all means I am fully understanding if no one wants to donate to this cause, I am aware others are in more need than myself!

I want to give a little backstory before I go into why I wish to have this procedure and why it’s so important to me.

I have struggled with mental illness, addiction, and eating disorders severely most of my life. From 2014 until 2020, I became mentally unstable and lost all control of my life. I admitted myself into a rehabilitation program in June of 2020 and had gastric sleeve surgery in September of 2021, which began my healing journey. I am 4.5 years sober from drugs, and 3 years sober from alcohol, self-harm, and nicotine. I’ve lost 140+ pounds, developed healthier eating habits, and stay active with stretching, walks, the gym and basketball. I was promoted at work for the first time in my life, hired into management of another company, and began a career with a luxury biker jewelry company, NightRider Jewelry. I am now career and wellness-focused, dedicated to living the rest of my life sober and forever evolving. I have completely changed my life around with the help of rehab, surgery, fitness, and therapy. I continue to push myself to new limits and evolve consistently and constantly.

As losing so much weight has changed my life entirely and I’m extremely grateful for my newfound lifestyle, I wish I could be happy with how my body looks and don’t have to deal with the complex medical issues that come along with mass amounts of loose skin.

I have struggled with body image for my entire life. Having such large amounts of loose skin hanging off my body is extremely challenging emotionally, as well as physically. I almost always have rashes under my loose skin, which causes bleeding, scaling, burning, and itching. The loose skin also causes very painful chafing. It’s extremely uncomfortable as well as emotionally distressing. It’s really hard to be constantly reminded of how big and sick I was before I turned my life around (287 pounds.) It’s depressing to work so hard to lose so much weight and look in the mirror and still be disgusted with what you see. It’s frustrating dealing with infections and rashes that come along with this ailment. Sometimes the way I feel about the loose skin puts me in a really dark place mentally, which is very difficult to navigate. I’m young, I lost most of my youth to mental illness and I wish my body would represent how I feel on the inside. I have fought for my life to become a stable, happy person. I continue to fight every single day and I know this surgery would change my life in a positive way. I know if I got this extra skin removed I would finally feel free from the chains of my past. I would be able to let go and move on with my life. I would feel more confident and secure which would be so empowering! I am desperate to get this surgery done so I can finally feel comfortable in my own skin.

I was quoted $22K for this procedure. I am a normal 27 year-old in the state of Colorado where the cost of living is unreasonable, I can not afford this and I need help. I do save a certain % of each paycheck for this procedure but I’m hoping to raise some of the money to kickstart my journey to closing this bitter chapter. I understand the nature of this fundraiser may be unsettling to some and by no means should anyone ever feel obligated to donate. If you do, thank you from the entirety of my heart. I truly appreciate it more than words can describe, and it means the world to me. Anything helps, everything is appreciated.