Help Kieran Access Gender-Affirming Surgery!

Story

Hi, my name is Kieran and I am asking for help from my family, friends, and community as I navigate gender-affirming surgery. This is the big one, and every donation helps! After many years struggling to find a surgeon, I am thrilled to share that my top surgery (double mastectomy) is scheduled for August 19th, 2024, with Dr. Alexes Hazen, MD at NYU Langone here in New York City. Navigating the medical world can be treacherous when you’re transgender, in a larger body with a high BMI, and seeking gender-affirming care from doctors that choose not to treat higher risk patients within a system that does not fully understand or appreciate the nuances of being transgender in our society. Aside from the emotional rollercoaster this has been, I am getting excited to physically take this next step in my journey!! A little about me - I’m a Speech Language Pathologist at a local school that serves students who have various neurophysiological disorders. I live in Brooklyn with my partner, Sunny, who works in Veterinary Care, and our two dogs (Brownie and Luba) and two cats (Kiki and Gigi). Our shared household is centered upon disability justice and celebrating the trans agenda of living authentically in our bodies. It has taken over two years of researching countless surgeons, and being denied by three surgeons, to have found the compassionate care of Dr. Hazen. When you live in a larger body, your issues are often overlooked (or downright neglected) by the medical world. My partner and I have had to face the increase to $1000/per month in insurance costs to get the care we both need, which has greatly affected our ability to save for both the surgery and the expense of recovering from major surgery. The financial assistance I’m asking for is to help with the cost of surgery, the eight weeks leave from work, transportation to and from medical appointments, meals and grocery delivery, personal care needs, and most importantly, dog-walking (!) as my beloved partner is disabled and this is a big part of our daily lives. My healing will take upwards of 6-8 weeks, with 3-4 weeks post-op being the height of the recovery process. That’s a lot of dog walks I will be unable to provide! Recovering from major surgery is huge for anyone, and it can be hard to ask for help. While this has been a daunting journey already - truly it’s only just begun. Top surgery will change my life for the better in so many ways. I see myself stepping into my future - confident and secure in my skin - more ME than I ever was before. I am so grateful to the spirit of fellowship that exists in this world, because I’m sure I will need it! For those with numbers on the brain, I have created a breakdown of what your donation will be going toward. Here are the estimated expenses: GoFundMe Goal: $15,500 Surgery: $10,000 Transportation: $300 Household Bills: $2000 Meals: $850 Dog-Walking: $1650 Personal Care: $250 GoFundMe Transaction Fees: $450 (based on 15K) If you would prefer to support me in a more material way, an Amazon wishlist with supplies for my care and recovery is forthcoming! And if you would prefer not to use GoFundMe (and avoid transaction fees) I also welcome donations through Venmo! (username: kiewa)