Help Keri Get His Top Surgery

Hey there,

My name is Keri, I am a trans male and use he/him pronouns. I was born and raised in Canada and began my FTM medical transition journey back in 2020 after the world had basically shut down.

TLDR; after immigrating to the US, processing gender + name changes, and the flurry of other life hurdles (you know the kind – cars breaking down, vet bills, etc.)... My partner + I have now drained the savings we had for my top surgery. While we are keeping budgets tight and trying to save the extra funds from our full-time jobs, as well as extra freelance work on the side(s)…it’s just not enough. I am asking for any help you can offer, in hopes that I can gather enough funding to go through with my scheduled top surgery in March of 2022.

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 A Little About Me:

When I was 2 years old my mom picked me up from daycare—one day we discussed what we wanted to be when we were older. So, on the way home I said that I wanted to boy and that God was going to come back and fix me. As a child, I identified as a boy as often as I could... taking every opportunity to be shirtless until I was told I couldn’t wear shorts to the beach anymore and that I had to start wearing shirts outside. I struggled a lot trying to figure out where I fit in with a family of all females. I was teased constantly for the way I looked by classmates and other kids in the neighborhood. I even remember being humiliated by teachers in front of the whole class for looking like a "boy". Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t embarrassed because I looked like the boy, I felt I was inside, I was embarrassed because they told the class I was a “girl” - the very thing I tried to hide. 

When I was 16, I came out as “gay” and for a while that helped me to feel comfortable. It gave me the excuse to dress more masculinely and to do more masculine things. But that only lasted for so long before I found myself increasingly unhappy and, quite frankly, angry. 
 
Back in 2014, I finally met my love Charlie—when I hit the darkest point in my life, and I started to find myself with her. Of course, she happened to be all the way in North Carolina USA. So, after doing long distances for so long, Charlie came to Canada to visit for a bit. During that time, we renovated a school bus and were preparing to drive it from Canada to the USA for the holidays back in 2018, but then we were separated at the border. Thus, halting our life together once again until just recently. (My immigration to the USA was thankfully finalized in February 2021.)

A few years ago in a target dressing room, I expressed my insecurities with my chest to my partner and how I wanted a flat chest. Charlie was of course supportive of my feelings then because that’s the kind of human they are. After the pandemic hit in 2020, I was stuck... separated from my love... and forced to do some much-needed self-reflecting on all the built-up anger that I had been unknowingly suppressing. 

Unfortunately, after 7+ years of distance, immigration/ moving costs, name/ gender marker change in two countries and no longer having universal health care it’s become a little overwhelming trying to come up with the funds for my top surgery, even while working a full-time job. 

Every day I get more confident as I live my authentic self and see the changes taking place before my eyes. I know that this top surgery will help me with my gender dysphoria insecurities around my chest.  I currently have my top surgery booked for March 2022.  I appreciate any help that you can offer to help me get one step closer to being comfortable in this body.