Help Student Doctor Oak get Trans Affirming Care

Hi,

My name is Oak; I am your friendly neighborhood transgender queer. I am in school (going on my 20th year in education) on my path to becoming a doctor! However, till I become a doctor I am a couple hundred thousand dollars in student debt - medical school costs A LOT y'all!

The news around trans health lately has been abysmal, so rather than look at the negatives - I want to take a moment to focus on some trans joy!

I want to share with everyone that after YEARS of looking for the correct surgical team for gender-affirming surgery, I had top surgery on April 14th, 2023.

I was SO EXCITED and also TERRIFIED. But now, all I am is relieved. I know that I will no longer have to wear binders when I wear suits, nor be in discomfort in my own skin and I now have a body that feels more in line with the true me.

My insurance is covering the procedure partially, but I still need to pay $12,400 out of pocket. My credit card interest rate is around 20% (a LOT higher than the interest rate on my student debt government loans). I need to pay off my gender-affirming surgery ASAP.

I am here to help fundraise to help mitigate more extreme high credit card interest-rate debt! If you can help me out I would deeply appreciate it.

While in medical school I have been simultaneously working to improve healthcare inequalities within the LGBTQIA+ community, using my educational privilege to support all of the beloved intersectional identities we belong to. I work in transgender health advocacy and education reform. I am also a Type One Diabetic and I spend so much of my money on those medications and medical supplies alone. If you want to learn more please check out this fictional yet autobiographical book I co-authored, DiaPride: The Superhero Adventures of Two Queer, Type One Diabetics.

If you are able, please consider financially supporting me with the cost of my gender-affirming surgery. Thank you so much for reading my post.

Much love,

Oak

P.S. Thank you for existing! From one human to another, I want you to know that I am proud of you for taking the time to consider donating to help someone else, possibly even a stranger; and I hope you are proud of me for living my life in my truest form.

P.P.S. Happy #Pride Month!

P.P.P.S If you belong to the trans* community, I wrote this a while ago but I wanted to leave this message here for you:

I do not know who you are, and there is no way for me to appear in front of you to tell you this, but I love you. I have the power of education, typing, and the computer in front of me. So these are the tools I will use to hopefully get my message to you. When I see people use hatred, even with the excuse of religion or "safety," to inform decisions to impact others, I want to let you know, it is not because of you. YOU are perfect just the way you are, YOU are beautiful, brave, strong, smart, and wise.

I do not know who you are. I do not know if you are non-binary, gender fluid, intersex, trans-male, trans-masc, trans-female, trans-femme, or fall under the trans* spectrum in another way. I may never see you, hug you, or cry with you, but know I love you. I hope someday these laws will be far behind us, and trans* people have the same rights as everyone else in this country. I hope the country turns to see how we exist, not as a threat, but as a fellow human. Till that day comes, know we are here for you. I wish I could hug you. We see you, we love you, and you are not alone.