Help Fund Christopher's Top Surgery

Hi, my name is Christopher, and I am a transgender man fundraising to help cover the costs of my top surgery. I knew I needed this surgery when I found out about it several years ago. I started saving up money three years ago when I got my first summer job, where I put aside every penny I made and have since saved just under £2000 working several jobs. I am now asking for your help.

I am returning for my second year of college this coming August and will be unable to save up more money as my funding and wages will be covering rent and groceries, etc. I hope to meet my goal as soon as possible as I am not sure how much longer I can cope without it. This surgery is extremely important for me as it will allow me to live my life as my true self without the constant mental and physical discomfort of being in the wrong body. Some people believe that gender-affirming surgeries are entirely cosmetic, but I cannot imagine a future without them.

I have felt trapped in my body since I started puberty and began to develop all the wrong changes. Instead of my voice dropping, my chest started to grow; a change that I never actually believed would happen to me. My chest has stopped me from developing socially in all sorts of ways. The mental discomfort that I experience has stopped me from playing sports and going out with friends. Avoiding looking in the mirror and eventually stopping me from being able to shower with the lights on, or even sometimes at all. At the age of 15 my mental health declined rapidly when I found out how long the NHS waiting list was for medically transitioning. I could not envision the next week without gender-affirming care never mind 3 years. The waitlist has since gone up to 5 years for a first appointment. I am now 19 and the wait time at that clinic has not moved. I am in a position where I am no longer able to continue waiting.

I have been binding my chest for three years and despite my efforts to bind as safely as possible, I still experience a lot of chest and rib pain. I need to bind not only for my mental well-being but for my safety when I start college in the coming months. However, the physical pain that comes with that is worrying and could lead to long-term damage to my ribs. This surgery will allow me to have that safety and wholeness that I need, while protecting my ribs from harm. This is why I have started this fundraiser and plan to go privately to get this surgery as soon as possible.

This surgery is lifesaving for trans people like me and I encourage you to please consider helping me. I appreciate any donation you can make and if you could share this with others or post the link online to reach as many people as possible it would mean the world to me.

Thank you.

Much love,

Chris <3