Help Filip fund his top surgery
Spende geschützt
Hello everyone!
I'm Filip, and I'm a 24 year old Polish trans man living in London. I am hoping to raise money for a chest reconstructive surgery.
I started going through the process of getting my surgery on the NHS, however, after a year of waiting for the first surgery referral appointment (of which I would need two) I was informed that I am staring at about 3 more years of waiting before I can get surgery - something that I simply cannot do. Therefore, I decided to go private, and will have a pre-surgery consultation with surgeon Miles Berry on the 27th of August 2019.
I have been wearing a binder, a restrictive garment which flattens my chest while simultaneusly limiting my mobility, since March 2016. I wouldn't be considering private surgery if I didn't notice my physical health deteriorate significantly in the past six months due to binder wear: I am short of breath even after the most simple exercises, I had to stop doing yoga because I was not only unable to move, but even just stretching started to make me nauseous and drastically increased the feeling of heartburn and acid reflux. I work full time, and for the past four months have been struggling with being physically present in the office. Nowadays, after three hours at work the heartburn gets unbearable, and I need to take an increasing number of restroom breaks just to take my binder off for a couple of minutes to simply breathe.
Prolonged binder use can lead to serious rib damage - it is advised to bind for 8-10 hours at a time with some days without binding each week, but I need to bind for at least 9-10 hours every day because of work, not to mention the time I need to spend at university or meeting with friends. I cannot stop wearing a binder, as doing so would be hugely detrimental to my mental healh, I cannot cope with life when my chest is present in it. Not wearing a binder is sadly not an option for me, and I hope you can help me change my life for the better.
Here is a breakdown of all costs:
Surgery referral from a private gender clinic: £300
Consultation with the surgeon: £150
The surgery itself: £6,805
Rent for a month (as I won't be able to work for an estimated 3-4 weeks after the surgery, which I cannot afford without help): £625
Transport before and after surgery (including a carer coming to help me with recovery): £150
I am not asking for the full sum (which amounts to around £8,000). I am working full time (as an intern, for the NHS) and I've been saving up whatever I could over the past year, hoping to put the money towards living expenses once I return to university in September 2019 to finish my degree. However, because of the surgery, I will be postponing my return to academia until 2020 as I believe I won't be able to cope with financial issues, post-surgery recovery, and university work all at the same time. I have decided to put all of my savings and energy towards the surgery this year since both my physical and mental health are at stake.
I have asked my family for support, and they gave me as much as they could - 5,000zł, which amounts to £1,000. My father passed away in 2011, and my mom is a primary school teacher in Poland, which is not the best paid job. I have two younger sisters whom she needs to take care of, too. I wouldn't ask her to give me more, especially when there is nothing more she can give.
The money I currently have, after a year of saving up and including help from my family, amounts to £3,500. This leaves me £4,500 short of the total I need for the surgery. I hope you can help and support me in getting past this last major milestone in my transition. It's the last thing that stands between me and being happy with my body. I can't even count how many times I've woken up to the harsh reality after dreaming of being able to go out in public without wearing a binder. Undergoing chest surgery would be a huge physical and metaphorical weight off my chest.
Any additional money I receive will be donated to fundraisers of other trans folks to help with their transitions.
Thank you for taking the time to read this far, I really appreciate it. I will be extremely happy if you can help in any way - every little counts, even sharing a link to my campaign means a lot, and words can't describe how grateful I am for even the smallest of donations. If you would prefer not to use GoFundMe, my paypal is paypal.me/mfmikulski.
Thank you once more, have a lovely day!
I'm Filip, and I'm a 24 year old Polish trans man living in London. I am hoping to raise money for a chest reconstructive surgery.
I started going through the process of getting my surgery on the NHS, however, after a year of waiting for the first surgery referral appointment (of which I would need two) I was informed that I am staring at about 3 more years of waiting before I can get surgery - something that I simply cannot do. Therefore, I decided to go private, and will have a pre-surgery consultation with surgeon Miles Berry on the 27th of August 2019.
I have been wearing a binder, a restrictive garment which flattens my chest while simultaneusly limiting my mobility, since March 2016. I wouldn't be considering private surgery if I didn't notice my physical health deteriorate significantly in the past six months due to binder wear: I am short of breath even after the most simple exercises, I had to stop doing yoga because I was not only unable to move, but even just stretching started to make me nauseous and drastically increased the feeling of heartburn and acid reflux. I work full time, and for the past four months have been struggling with being physically present in the office. Nowadays, after three hours at work the heartburn gets unbearable, and I need to take an increasing number of restroom breaks just to take my binder off for a couple of minutes to simply breathe.
Prolonged binder use can lead to serious rib damage - it is advised to bind for 8-10 hours at a time with some days without binding each week, but I need to bind for at least 9-10 hours every day because of work, not to mention the time I need to spend at university or meeting with friends. I cannot stop wearing a binder, as doing so would be hugely detrimental to my mental healh, I cannot cope with life when my chest is present in it. Not wearing a binder is sadly not an option for me, and I hope you can help me change my life for the better.
Here is a breakdown of all costs:
Surgery referral from a private gender clinic: £300
Consultation with the surgeon: £150
The surgery itself: £6,805
Rent for a month (as I won't be able to work for an estimated 3-4 weeks after the surgery, which I cannot afford without help): £625
Transport before and after surgery (including a carer coming to help me with recovery): £150
I am not asking for the full sum (which amounts to around £8,000). I am working full time (as an intern, for the NHS) and I've been saving up whatever I could over the past year, hoping to put the money towards living expenses once I return to university in September 2019 to finish my degree. However, because of the surgery, I will be postponing my return to academia until 2020 as I believe I won't be able to cope with financial issues, post-surgery recovery, and university work all at the same time. I have decided to put all of my savings and energy towards the surgery this year since both my physical and mental health are at stake.
I have asked my family for support, and they gave me as much as they could - 5,000zł, which amounts to £1,000. My father passed away in 2011, and my mom is a primary school teacher in Poland, which is not the best paid job. I have two younger sisters whom she needs to take care of, too. I wouldn't ask her to give me more, especially when there is nothing more she can give.
The money I currently have, after a year of saving up and including help from my family, amounts to £3,500. This leaves me £4,500 short of the total I need for the surgery. I hope you can help and support me in getting past this last major milestone in my transition. It's the last thing that stands between me and being happy with my body. I can't even count how many times I've woken up to the harsh reality after dreaming of being able to go out in public without wearing a binder. Undergoing chest surgery would be a huge physical and metaphorical weight off my chest.
Any additional money I receive will be donated to fundraisers of other trans folks to help with their transitions.
Thank you for taking the time to read this far, I really appreciate it. I will be extremely happy if you can help in any way - every little counts, even sharing a link to my campaign means a lot, and words can't describe how grateful I am for even the smallest of donations. If you would prefer not to use GoFundMe, my paypal is paypal.me/mfmikulski.
Thank you once more, have a lovely day!
Organisator
Filip Mikulski
Organisator