Help Kim achieve her transition goals!

Hi there! A lot of you know me as Luke, some of you know me as Frosty, and more recently, Kim Chee!

I've been on the fence for years about my sexual identity, whether I identified as a bisexual man with feminine leanings as far as personality goes, or something nebulous that I couldn't nail down. I've always been comfortable portraying myself as a male or female persona in chat groups, but I always kept to my main self: the cheetah "Frosty" who has become associated with my online self, Twitch channel, YouTube, etc. He's essentially my "brand" now.

But it always nagged me. I wasn't 100% satisfied, ever, now that I look back on it. I've always hated looking at myself in the mirror and felt my body was gross, resulting in poor hygiene, low self-esteem, and ongoing struggles with depression and anxiety.

I realized there was a reason I was so comfortable letting artists draw my personas with a feminine figure as time went on. Still male, but moving into the in-between space more and more. During a chat with a close friend, it hit me like a barrel of bricks. I'm not satisfied with identifying as male, but also don't want to identify as fully female either - yet. I recognized that Nonbinary is the most fitting way to describe how I've always felt. It explains a lot of things, looking back.

Six months of waiting after scheduling an appointment with a gender specialist, I finally got in to see a wonderful doctor at Rebirth OB/GYN and am now on my third month of HRT! I still don't know specifically how far I'll go with it, but a cozy middle-ground is a good start, then we'll see where life takes me.

The next phase of this transition is the rough part that I don't have funds for, hence this GFM. Medicaid covers most of my current expenses, but a number of LGBTQ+ providers do not accept insurance due to the hassle and frustration of trying to fight insurance companies to cover gender-affirming care. I've heard horror stories from transitioning friends about arguing with their insurance provider for months, sometimes years.

That being said, I'm reaching out to ask for assistance to cover expenses related to gender affirmation. $15,000 is a lofty estimate, but I want to ensure I have sufficient funds to cover expenses that I know aren't covered, plus ones that may or may not be if my Medicaid qualification changes.

Gender-Affirming Therapy + Referral Letters - $50/session out of pocket, unknown how many sessions will be required before I can obtain my referrals. My scheduled therapist does not accept insurance.

Hair Removal - $400/mo out-of-pocket only. This obviously isn't mandatory, but if I decide to go the surgical route, it will be.

Orchiectomy - Unknown cost, this should be covered by insurance but detailed information from my provider is muddy at best and conflicts itself in several places. Research suggests this could be anywhere from $2k-8,000! Yikes. Further complicating things, I don't know if my Medicaid coverage will be dropped come April due to the new government spending package, so this could also end up being paid entirely out of pocket.

Misc - Any incidental purchases required for post-procedure care, clothing, makeup, etc.

The rough cost breakdown I'm anticipating is:

Therapy - 10 sessions, $500

Hair Removal - Unlimited sessions, $7,500 for full body treatment.

Orchiectomy - $3,000 (will update when more details are available)

Misc - $500-$1000

Any help would be immensely appreciated as I am unemployed and unable to work due to ongoing mental health concerns. I can't do this alone.

If you're still reading, thank you for your consideration. I love you all ♥