Free to be Jason
Donation protected
UPDATED 1/3/2019:
I am a 33 year old transman and have been fortunate that I have had a positive response to my coming out January 2017. I started hormones less than 2 weeks after publicly coming out to the world and the majority of people in my life have been incredible. Through all the family, school, and community support there remains one major stress in my life and that is money. I decided to resign from my job teaching band full-time to take much needed time for myself. It has been monumentally beneficial in almost every way. However, my new adjusted salary from serving tables and substitute teaching is about half of what I was making before and I was already struggling. My financial stress is not all due to my transition, but you can imagine the huge impact it has had and will continue to have for years to come. My mental health has improved so much in the last 6 months and I am so much happier as I round out year 2 of my transition. It truly is incredible how different my daily life is and what I have learned about myself.
One thing I thought I would have had by now is top surgery and without help there was not much hope on the horizon until recently. Luckily, I am again covered by health insurance and through my research it is looking promising that insurance will at least cover PART of my top surgery. That would only come after prior authorization, several doctor appointments, and several months. So I really want to be ready to jump when I can and get the chest I deserve. I am physically hurting myself, whether I bind or not, because of poor posture, insecurity, and aching muscles. My sides/back are sore and weak from the false support the binder gives, while my diaphragm is tight and I am not breathing deeply, getting enough oxygen, stretching my ribcage, etc. Now that I am also serving at Olive Garden I struggle to not feel like I need a binder to hide my shape in a dress shirt carrying trays... My arms go tingly/numb while I'm working a lot of the time and I spend most of my free time massaging myself. I'm a walking muscle knot, ha.
So I am going to try and get the ball rolling with insurance/surgeons, but I still need your help! It is likely that I will have to pay 30% co-insurance for the surgery ($3,000?) and my out of pocket deductible is $6,000! So I am basically expecting the worst here and have to pay that much for surgery ($3,000-6,000), which is still less than the $10,000+ it would cost without insurance so I'll take it.
So many have been generous so far and THANK YOU!! Thank you for helping me get to the "finish line" without so many obstacles. Thank you for giving me a chance to be comfortable and happy. Thank you for believing in me.
FROM BEFORE:
I'd like to break down some of the costs in hopes that some kind and generous folks out there will consider donating and helping me continue to become the man I was meant to be. Are you willing to assist me financially so that I can avoid major debt just trying to live as my true self??
Costs I have already had to cover:
Doctor Visits/Labs/Tests for year 1 - $1500 year 2- $2000+
Testosterone injections- $300 per year (at current dose)
New clothes (work, casual, winter, summer, etc.) $500+
Binders, prosthetics, STPs $600+
Therapy- $1000 per year (every week or two)
Legal name change $215- petition, court, license, social security card, posting for 3 weeks in paper (required)
Total in 2 years: $7000+ (no surgery) :(
Future Expenses:
Therapy
Testosterone injections- $400 per year (at current dose, must take for the rest of my life)
Top surgery (breast removal) $6-10,000
Possibly bottom surgery (cross that bridge when we get there) $30-80,000
Possible unpaid time off of work
I am a 33 year old transman and have been fortunate that I have had a positive response to my coming out January 2017. I started hormones less than 2 weeks after publicly coming out to the world and the majority of people in my life have been incredible. Through all the family, school, and community support there remains one major stress in my life and that is money. I decided to resign from my job teaching band full-time to take much needed time for myself. It has been monumentally beneficial in almost every way. However, my new adjusted salary from serving tables and substitute teaching is about half of what I was making before and I was already struggling. My financial stress is not all due to my transition, but you can imagine the huge impact it has had and will continue to have for years to come. My mental health has improved so much in the last 6 months and I am so much happier as I round out year 2 of my transition. It truly is incredible how different my daily life is and what I have learned about myself.
One thing I thought I would have had by now is top surgery and without help there was not much hope on the horizon until recently. Luckily, I am again covered by health insurance and through my research it is looking promising that insurance will at least cover PART of my top surgery. That would only come after prior authorization, several doctor appointments, and several months. So I really want to be ready to jump when I can and get the chest I deserve. I am physically hurting myself, whether I bind or not, because of poor posture, insecurity, and aching muscles. My sides/back are sore and weak from the false support the binder gives, while my diaphragm is tight and I am not breathing deeply, getting enough oxygen, stretching my ribcage, etc. Now that I am also serving at Olive Garden I struggle to not feel like I need a binder to hide my shape in a dress shirt carrying trays... My arms go tingly/numb while I'm working a lot of the time and I spend most of my free time massaging myself. I'm a walking muscle knot, ha.
So I am going to try and get the ball rolling with insurance/surgeons, but I still need your help! It is likely that I will have to pay 30% co-insurance for the surgery ($3,000?) and my out of pocket deductible is $6,000! So I am basically expecting the worst here and have to pay that much for surgery ($3,000-6,000), which is still less than the $10,000+ it would cost without insurance so I'll take it.
So many have been generous so far and THANK YOU!! Thank you for helping me get to the "finish line" without so many obstacles. Thank you for giving me a chance to be comfortable and happy. Thank you for believing in me.
FROM BEFORE:
I'd like to break down some of the costs in hopes that some kind and generous folks out there will consider donating and helping me continue to become the man I was meant to be. Are you willing to assist me financially so that I can avoid major debt just trying to live as my true self??
Costs I have already had to cover:
Doctor Visits/Labs/Tests for year 1 - $1500 year 2- $2000+
Testosterone injections- $300 per year (at current dose)
New clothes (work, casual, winter, summer, etc.) $500+
Binders, prosthetics, STPs $600+
Therapy- $1000 per year (every week or two)
Legal name change $215- petition, court, license, social security card, posting for 3 weeks in paper (required)
Total in 2 years: $7000+ (no surgery) :(
Future Expenses:
Therapy
Testosterone injections- $400 per year (at current dose, must take for the rest of my life)
Top surgery (breast removal) $6-10,000
Possibly bottom surgery (cross that bridge when we get there) $30-80,000
Possible unpaid time off of work
Organizer
Jason Soules
Organizer
Eau Claire, WI
