Help with Jady's FFS

Hey everyone.

So I'm going to have FFS, Facial Feminization Surgery, this coming August in San José, California. We'll have maxed out our credit cards by then, so, really, anything you can contribute would be greatly appreciated.

We're are asking for donations to offset the ridiculously expensive cost of travel between the Bay area and Michigan.

My wife Amy will be accompanying me, and we're going to need a place to stay for 10-14 days while I recover, as well as airfare, and the cost of rides to and from airports and hospitals. We're also going to have to pay out-of-pocket for all medication and tests related to the surgery, as FFS isn't covered by insurance.

The surgery itself is extraordinarily expensive; I don’t think we know enough people, or have enough time to try to raise the full amount, so we’re hoping for a little help on getting there and back.

Every penny you donate is one we won’t have to borrow.

So. What is FFS? Facial Feminization Surgery is a set of surgical procedures that alter masculine-appearing facial features by bringing them closer to conventionally feminine proportions.

The goal is to erase those masculine features that I see in the mirror every day, the wrong-seeming reflection that's tormented me since my youth. Doing this won’t make me pretty, it won’t make me look younger, or all that different really, just feminine. 

I’m doing this for myself. Because I don't want to live another minute  feeling like a stranger in my own body. My hope is that FFS will lessen my dysphoria, give me the confidence to be seen, and to participate in my own life. And, if we're honest, to also make me less of a potential target for harassment, discrimination, or worse. 

I've set the amount for $5,000, which, given the SF Bay area, might actually be a little on the low side. GoFundMe allows us to keep everything that's donated (less their cut), plus anything above that amount. So don't let your giving be constrained; there is no upper limit!

We know this is a big ask. Just know that I love you, and that, even if you can't give anything, your encouragement means the world to Amy and me.

Prizes and incentives:

Anyone who donates has my everlasting, and undying gratitude.

$1 - $24 will get a personalized  thank you note from me on the social media platform of your choice.

$25 - $49: a personalized thank you note on the social media of your choice plus a hand-drawn doodle. 

$50 - $99: a personalized thank you note on the social media of your choice, a hand-drawn doodle, and a recipe of mine.

$100-$499 will net you a personalized thank you note on the social media of your choice, a hand-drawn doodle, and a 5 x 7 photograph, taken by me in my photography days. And a recipe.

$500 and above: you get a personalized thank you note on the social media of your choice, a hand-drawn doodle, a recipe, AND I will come to your house (at some point) and cook for you. Dinner, lunch, breakfast- you name it!

Anyone who donates the entire amount, or more, will receive a personalized thank you on the social media of your choice,  a hand-drawn doodle, a 5 x 7 photograph, and a handwritten index card with my grandmother's treasured meat ball recipe, plus an in-person cooking demonstration from me.

And, in the off chance someone gives the entire amount of the surgery, you get all of the above, plus one meal, prepared by me, every year for the next 25 years, plus all the apples you want from our orchard in perpetuity.

Also, you're all invited to come over and pet our cats.