Austen's Top Surgery Fundraiser

Hello friends, family, and generally amazing human beings! Thank you for clicking the link that brought you here!

Let me tell you a bit about what's going on. The short story is this: I need top surgery, and I can't afford the whole thing myself.

What is top surgery, you ask? Well, in clinical terms it's the removal of breast tissue in order to masculinize someone's chest. Lots of transgender folks have top surgery--it's a totally safe procedure, you don't have to stay in the hospital, and you're up and back to normal life in about two weeks.

Now, let me tell you about what top surgery means to me.
First, it means that I no longer have to wear chest binders, which are basically REALLY tight elastic undershirts that flatten your chest. I've been wearing binders for about two years now, and even though I've been wearing the safest kinds, years of binder use can be really hard on your back, shoulders, and lungs, and boy howdy, let me tell you. It is not fun. In the last six months I've started experiencing a lot of back pain from wearing binders, and it would mean the world to me if I could just wake up in the morning and put on a t-shirt and go about my day without any shortness of breath or back pain.

Second, getting top surgery would allow me to finally be at home in my body. My chest has been making me uncomfortable, self-concious, and generally awful since I was 13, and it's the source of most of my dysphoria. If you're not a transgender guy yourself, it may be hard to imagine how much it would mean to be able to have button-down shirts finally fit right; to be able to swim in trunks; to be able to walk without slouching and trying to hide. Getting top surgery is the last step in my physical transition--and it's the one I've been waiting for for years.

So I've chosen the wonderful Dr. Medalie in Cleveland, OH to do the surgery, as he's the best top surgeon near me for the money. I've worked with my insurance company, but unfortunately my insurance isn't going to be able to help cover surgery, which means I'm going totally out of pocket. I've been saving up for about a year now, and I'll have a bit more before the surgery date, so what I'm asking for is this:

Cost of surgery with Dr. Medalie: $6,299
Cost of travel/hotel/food while in OH:  $1,500
Total: $7,799
What I'm hoping to raise: $6,000

And out of that six thousand there's going to be some taken out for GoFundMe fees, and a bit used for creation of the perks. So in the end, I'm going to be keeping about $5,500 which will all go toward the cost of surgery.

I'm scheduling surgery for mid-October, but I have to have all the financing figured out before the end of the summer, so let's give it our best shot!

Here's how we're going to do this--

Some wonderful and amazing artistic friends of mine have donated their time and talent to create some really cool designs. Check out the drafts of the designs, which are still in the works!:

Courage by Shelly Paul:

This way cool design, based on one of my favorite quotes by Brene Brown, and created by my friend Shelly, will be going on t-shirts!

Lionheart by Chelsea Bell:

This friendly lion will be going on both personalized postcards and stick-anywhere bumper stickers!

Transgender & Christian by Emmy Kegler:

Are you trans and Christian? Do you just dig the videos ? Well, grab yourself one of the handy bumper stickers with this design, and you can represent!
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So every person that donates gets a thank-you gift, from a video shout-out, to a bumper sticker, a t-shirt, and even an education session with your church/small group/office/etc, if that's your thing!

With your help, I know I can make this goal. Thank you so much for being a part of my life, and for making my life so much better. You're amazing.

And keep checking back, as I'll be posting more pictures of the thank-you gifts as the designs are finalized and we start getting things printed!