Lio's Top Surgery Fund

Hey everybody!

My name is Lio! TLDR: Good news! I’m finally getting top surgery! Bad news! It is very expensive and I have to pay for everything out of pocket!

$15000 of these funds will go to the surgery and anesthesia. The other $1000 is to help me be able to pay for a place to stay for a couple days during the surgery as the only surgeon that was willing to do this on me is two hours away from my home and my team has asked me to stay nearby in case of emergency the day before and after. It will also hopefully help with some of the things I will need to buy for aftercare.

I have suffered with dysphoria around my chest since childhood. Puberty hit me like a MAC Truck when I was in 3rd grade and it has felt like my life and my body was never my own. My chest has been a huge problem for me, it causes me both physical and emotional pain. It has limited my mobility greatly on top of just feeling like a slap in the face of who I am as a man (literally these things are large enough that they have slapped me in the face multiple times at this point!)

Binding has been something I have tried to do for a long time but my chest is so large that it is hard to find a binder that does a lot and is sustainable. I also have a form of arthritis that primarily impacts my spine and hips the most and this makes it even harder to wear a binder for extended periods of time or just carry the weight of this chest.

Maybe this is TMI but I want to paint a picture of how important this surgery is to me and my health.

I tried to get this surgery back when I was much smaller and had insurance that would cover it almost in full and even had a date set back before COVID, and also a year before that attempt but I kept losing my job or not being in a place where I could be supported or be able to manage to pay for this. It’s been a long time and several issues later that I have finally just said to hell with it! And decided to just go ahead and go for it. I have no insurance at the moment and when I do have it, this will not be covered. I work full time and then some with my creative projects outside of my day job. I support my friends and loved ones and those loved ones have suggested that I ask for some help as well.

It has been very hard to find a surgeon that will operate on me because of my size but my chest makes up for a ton of that weight as well and I finally found a guy who sees that and understands that this is life saving for me.

I am unable to find clothes that feel comfortable and like the man I want to be because of my chest. I can’t work out to make my chest smaller or shape my body in a way that suits who I am. I have wanted this for so long. I’ll never forget the night I realized that these were not going away and that I needed a bra, I was just a child but I knew that things would be different forever in a way that felt so so wrong to me. I have literally cried so much and felt so constrained and restricted by this area of my body since the very first day they began to change. I know that when this surgery takes place it will be the a huge step in my healing and being able to carry myself confidently instead of slouching and pulling at my clothes and hiding and just living in so much pain and discomfort. It has felt so nice to be on HRT so I know that this will be something that makes my life that much better.

I hope that this was not too much to share. I could say so much more. If you read all this, thank you.

And if you are able to help in any way, it is appreciated! No worries if not. Sending love as always.