TOP SURGERY FUND FOR JULES

Hello!

My name is Jules and I keep having this dream where I'm Leonardo DiCaprio playing Romeo, in Romeo + Juliet, in the scene where he shouts 'I DEFY YOU STARS', shirt open, crying, mourning the (pretend death) death of his true love Juliet (see image below).

But I’m not in mourning, and I'm not crying… and I'm not shouting at the stars… and I'm not Romeo, and sadly I'm not even a hot young Leo. I am just myself and I have two fucking beautiful scars across my chest.

In order to make this dream a reality. I need your help.

And I am shit at asking for help.

But after 5 years of waiting I’ve decided to try.

I have been on the NHS waiting list for top surgery at The Laurels in Exeter since 2019, that’s 5 years of waiting, and still haven’t been seen for an initial assessment. Sadly Exeter has the worst wait times in the UK but because I’m from Bristol that’s where I was placed. I now live in London but if I wanted to move to a London clinic I would have to restart at the bottom of their waiting list which would be at least 3 years. Sadly, this long wait is the norm and not the exception for trans people seeking gender affirming surgery in the UK - the system is failing us and I don’t see it getting any easier.

So, I have decided to go private.

Over the last 5 years I have managed to save £6k towards the cost of the surgery and am trying to raise the final £4k to allow me to have this life affirming surgery.

The surgery is with Dr Phillip Rubin and costs £8.8k and, because I’m self employed, I’ll receive no income while off work. This makes the cost of my recovery £1.2k - so the total cost, all in, is £10k... Without your support it would take at least 4 years for me to raise the remaining £4k

If you’re reading this, I’m sure you already know how transformative and affirming this surgery will be for me. It will allow me to feel comfy and brave and free in my skin which I haven’t felt since childhood (see image below). It will allow me to get on with my life and stop waiting.

I know that existing is really fucking hard right now, the cost of living is mental and there are so many other causes that also need our support so if you can’t afford to support me then please please PLEASE DO NOT WORRY. If that is the case, maybe you could share this with someone who would be in a position to help out, and wherever you may land, I really appreciate you taking the time to read this.

Big Love,

Jules