Hey there! I'm Sam, and I am raising money for a gender-affirming and medically necessary radical breast reduction surgery.

The Gender Affirming Part

I am a non-binary and gender nonconforming queer person. I generally prefer to present pretty androgynously -- this is incredibly difficult as a person with a very large chest. Clothes don't fit the way I want them to, so I can't present in the way I'm most comfortable.

I have spent the better part of my life crying about bras, swimsuits, shirts, all things related to my chest even before realizing there were *gender* feelings associated with it all. I am still often uncomfortable without a shirt or binder on, even around partners. Binders "help" a little, but there's only so much they can do given how large my chest is, and it's not safe to bind 24/7 anyways.

The Medically Necessary Part

As mentioned above, this has been an issue for a long time. Like, a decade and a half long time. When I was 20, I started developing more severe chronic back pain that I sought out specialist care for. A couple years and a few thousand dollars later, I had still not acquired a diagnosis for my back pain and the advice I received was "lose weight or take pain meds." At the time, I was still very small (people who knew me then will remember this), but was starting to gain weight because of my back pain -- and because of how physically difficult it was to be physically active due to my chest size.

Even with doubled-up sports bras, working out hurt. I became physically unable to dance (something I did all my life and thought I would do professionally), run, skate, go to the gym, etc. Sleeping has also been unbearable and uncomfortable for the majority of my life because of my chest.

I have not worn a normal bra in probably 5 years, and avoid sports bras whenever I can too because of the pain, but the size of my chest means that I do "have" to wear a bra or binder (if I don't: cue more discomfort and aforementioned gender dysphoria feelings) most of the time.

The Fine Line

This surgery is truly a necessity for my physical and mental wellbeing. I have put it off for a long time, but it has continued to contribute to deterioration on both of those fronts, and I need to feel like I am on the path to repairing that damage.

The Surgery

I am currently in the process of reaching out to schedule my initial consultation with a clinic local to me that specializes in reductions and top surgeries. Until I schedule this, I will not know the exact cost I can expect, but per their website I can assume it will be between $10-12k after everything is accounted for.

For now, the goal is set at the low end of that estimate, and I will adjust the goal as soon as I have a real number from the doctor after my consultation.

The Crowdfunding

I am a small business owner in my first year of operations, and currently do not have health insurance (oops). While I am in the process of acquiring this with the help of some more knowledgeable friends, the center I am going to takes very limited insurances and coverage will likely still not be on the table for me.

I am grateful to be able to keep a roof over my head and meet my basic needs through my job, but since my business is still so new I don't have the luxury of being able to do much more than that -- and certainly not afford a surgery of this expense.

As uncomfortable as asking for help from my community makes me, one of the biggest lessons I've learned this year is that not accepting support is anti-community. SO I'm leaning into my community, and I am incredibly grateful for everyone who takes the time to read, share, interact, and donate to help me get these dang things off of me.