Miles's Top Surgery Fund

03/31/2024 Update:

Thank you so much to everyone that has donated so far, I hope that one day I will be able to repay all of you for the kindness you've shown me.

Today is Trans Day of Visibility, three days after I turned 21. I have learned so much since I started my transition, especially a lot in the past year. 2023 was a year where I started experimenting a lot with my style and my identity, and it helped my dysphoria a lot. It's been the first time in a long time where I've realized what I want for my future self. I used to fear so many of the changes that I'd go through, part of it was internalized, I wanted to remain twink-y and passing. And as I enter year 9 of my transition, I understand that I don't have to be so afraid of change, that I'll get older, that I might lose some hair, that maybe I gain weight, or maybe I end up identifying as something else. The best thing I can do is accept what I have and be grateful for it.

I've started binding less in the past few months, it's been weird since it's not always comfortable. And to this day I still feel weird when I have to go out without wearing tape on my chest. But it's given my body a lot of rest and it has helped me be more patient with the next step of my transition, that being top surgery.

I am starting my first few appointments before summer of this year to find out all of the total costs, which I will be sharing on my instagram (@zeravlaselim). As of right now, it doesn't seem like my insurance will cover any costs but I will update if that changes (probably won't since I do live in Florida). I do have to have surgery before the end of 2025 as it will help provide documentation for my name/gender change as I am changing those through a different method.

Thank you so much in advance. If you cannot donate, please share this link through social media, it helps me so much.

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2023 Update:

I want to start by saying that I am eternally grateful for every donation I've received, every single dollar helps me out a lot, especially now more than ever.

At the time of writing this, my 20th birthday was yesterday. I'm at a point where there's nothing more that I want than this surgery, I've waited my whole life for this and I finally want to move forward. I want to be able to attend college and work and not have to worry about the crippling dysphoria that my chest brings me. So I am going to start the process towards surgery sometime in the summer of 2023.

Unfortunately, as some of you may know, anti-trans sentiment has reached the point of genocidal language being spewed by dozens of certain people affiliated with a certain political party and I am in a state that is being heavily affected by this. I try not to think about it, but the reality is that at any point my ability to transition could be stripped from me. But despite all the bad that we've seen in the past year, I've been able to achieve several of my transition goals. I was able to start hormones shortly after I first posted my GoFundMe and it's brought me so much peace that I didn't even know I could have. It provided me with challenges that have made me grow as a person. I fought my demons. Those demons being male pattern baldness.

Ultimately what I'm trying to say is that despite all of the issues we've been facing, the trans community has remained resilient. I've met so many wonderful trans people in the past year who inspire me and make me hopeful for a better future.

In a time when the world seems to be against us, our transition becomes the ultimate form of protest.

All donations go straight to my surgery savings, since I am starting the process soon, any details regarding insurance or the specific costs will be posted here and/or my social media. I've set the goal to $8,000 because the average cost for top surgery is anywhere from $5k to $10k. If the campaign happens to go over its goal then that money will be used for post-op care since I will be unable to work for at least 2-3 months.

Every single dollar helps, thank you for reading.

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Original text from 2021 below.

Hello! I'm Miles. I am an 18 year old trans man.

I came to the United States when I was nine years old because of my dad's work. We only planned to be here for one or two years, but I came out as trans. At that point, my parents decided it'd be best for us to stay here since my home country is not safe for LGBT people. This country doesn't even allow name changes. They didn't want me to face discrimination and rejection so they continued with the immigration process until we were able to obtain our residence here. I'm happy to be in a country where I can legally transition, and I hope to be part of the movement to make trans people more accepted in our society.

It's my dream to become a comic artist one day. I can easily visualize my future in terms of books written and other projects, and I want to be able to do the same with the future of my transition.

The pandemic has affected everyone in some way. My family is not an exception. My parents have been earning a lot less money, but we still have the same amount of costs and debts to cover. I graduated high school in 2020 and spent most of that year locked inside, but I've recently been able to get a job in order to pay for my own needs.

But HRT (hormone replacement therapy) and top surgery are really expensive, and insurance won't cover much, if it even covers anything at all. This process also requires therapy, doctor appointments, blood work, surgery consultations, etc. 

I'm currently also paying for my own physical therapy; I've had to deal with horrible back pain for several years, it's only recently that I have been able to afford it. In the past year, I have developed an uneven ribcage so wearing chest binders is not an option for me anymore. 

I was hoping to be a completely different person by now. It feels like I'm stuck in time, I just don't feel 18 at all. Having to work under a different name and with body parts I don't want to have has made my dysphoria worse. I was able to hide under the name 'Miles' in high school, but I'm in a completely different world now.

I'm starting this GoFundMe because every time I make the budget for all the things I need to pay for, I am saddened by how long it will take me to save up for just a portion of my top surgery. I make a little bit above minimum wage, but it is not a livable wage. 

All I want is to be comfortable in my own body.

If the campaign does not reach its goal, then I'll work until I have the money.

If it goes over the goal, it'll help me with hormones, therapy, doctor appointments, etc.

Whether it's $1, $5, or $10, any amount of money will help me. If you cannot donate then please share this wherever you can.

Thank you in advance for supporting and spreading my campaign <3