Help Evie With SRS Expenses
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My History
In many ways my story is much like most trans people. I knew from an early age that I was different, and had a vague idea of what was wrong. I lacked the vocabulary, understanding, and support to communicate any of this until I was in my late teenage years, at which point I fell deeply into denial. I would oscillate between denial and some level of self-acceptance for another ten years, falling deeper into depression as time went on.
Although I wouldn't socially transition until late 2020, I started my medical transition 8 years earlier with the smallest dosage of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) I could get. It took the edge off, but only for a little while. Every six to twelve months I would increase my HRT and each time it would take the edge off for a little bit. Eventually, I reached the maximum recommended dosage (my doctor, an ethical woman, wouldn't let me go higher and frankly I understood the futility of it anyway). Shortly afterward, in early 2020, before the pandemic reached America, I lost my will to live.
Thankfully I regained it later that year and decided to socially transition and to complete my medical transition with gender-affirming surgeries.
This is the most important of those surgeries.
Sexual Reassignment Surgery at Mt. Sinai
On April 20th, 2023 I'm scheduled for Sexual Reassignment Surgery (SRS) which in my case will be a vaginoplasty. I chose Mt. Sinai for two reasons: the only surgeon in Pennsylvania that accepts insurance is highly controversial, and Mt. Sinai offers a particular kind of vaginoplasty termed a "peritonial pull-through vaginoplasty." This particular form of the surgery is recommended for women like myself who have been on HRT for a long period of time. Other forms of vaginoplasty rely heavily on material that is atrophied by years of HRT, but this surgery uses a portion of the peritoneum, a membrane that lines the abdomen. Although peritonial pull-throughs have been around for a while now, they're not available everywhere, and none of the surgeons in Pennsylvania offer them. Mt. Sinai is one of the closest options, and happens to be the home of the doctor who pioneered the technique.
Thankfully insurance is supposed to cover the surgery itself, but what insurance won't cover is the month-long hotel stay in Manhattan required by my surgeon, the medical supplies I'll need during recovery, and my regular bills that I'll still need to pay despite the cut in pay I'll experience during my three months away from work on Short Term Disability. This is where this Go Fund Me comes into play.
Here's what I know:
- Insurance. I'm told insurance will cover the actual surgery, possibly with a 20% deductible (we're still figuring this out). This is the ONLY thing insurance will cover.
- My Stay. My surgeon requires me to be within a half hour of the hospital for 3 to 4 weeks following the surgery. This is standard procedure, as any unforeseen complications can become dangerous quickly and require emergency surgery. In fact, while I was at Mt. Sinai for my consultation, such a case was brought in and I was impressed with my surgeon's quick response and prioritization of the emergency case even though it meant cutting my consultation short.
- Work. My surgeon requires that I not return to work for at least 12 weeks.
- Materials. Recovery from SRS requires supplies. I will need to purchase: a maternity pillow, a seat cushion, extra clothes and underwear, lots of gauze, nitrile gloves, bacteriostatic lubricant, a shower seat, saline, baby shampoo, incontinence pads, stool softeners, electrolyte drink, wet wipes, and probably more.
- Travel expenses. We'll be taking a train or airplane into NYC, and then using Lyft/Uber to get around as necessary. Besides getting to and from the city, I expect to be making visits to the hospital no less than twice a week on average for check-ups.
- Food. I'll need to afford food for myself and whoever is staying with me to help take care of me. Thankfully there are markets in NYC but even the inexpensive stuff still costs. And we don't know yet what our capacity to make meals from scratch is going to be, so much of it is likely to be pre-prepared.
- Short Term Disability. If I'm approved for Short Term Disability, I'll be getting 65% of my regular pay. The payments will begin a week or two after my surgery happens, and should cover all 12 weeks that I can't work. Unfortunately this won't be enough to pay my monthly bills at home, and we'll have to find some way to make up the rest.
- Help. I'm required to have somebody to assist me during my recovery, including my stay in Manhattan. Because it's unreasonable to ask anybody to be away from their lives for a whole month, my plan is to ask individuals I trust to each spend a week with me. Although this adds an expense, I want to pay for their travel to and from the city.
A Rough Estimate of Costs:
- Hotel is expected to be about $150/night (after discounts for being a hospital patient, and taxes) x 30 nights. Total $4500
- Food we're budgeting for two people $30/day x 30 days. Total $900
- Travel by train is expected to be $180 each way, with about ten tickets being needed (4 helpers each way, myself each way). Total $1800
That's $7200 already, which leaves $2800 for supplies, incidentals, helping to make up for the missing 35% of my paycheck, and of course Go Fund Me's fees.
So you see, even with full medical coverage the expenses add up quickly. That's why I need your help. Thank you so much for your support!
Organisator
Evelyn O'Hagan
Organisator
Pittsburgh, PA