Help Leo get his Top Surgery

My name is Leo and I am a transgender man, originally born and raised in Florida. I came to Vancouver BC as a dual citizen when I was 19 in order to get my trans-specific surgeries done and covered by the Canadian health care system. Unfortunately,  there's no money in the system to help people in a timely manner. I have been trying to get top surgery in Vancouver for over 3 years with no luck; There is a shortage of funds, workers and supplies through the Canadian health care system, so doctors are receiving less and less OR time. Over the past 3 years, I have had surgery dates given and taken away due to extenuating circumstances, (the doctor had to go on stress leave, or they found themselves in legal trouble ) and I have been left to make it work of my own devices. this became incredibly hard on my mental health and I found myself giving up on the idea that I could be the man I am inside. After a great deal of research, the surgeon I have chosen is Dr. Sajan. My consult was on March 26, and my surgery will fall anywhere 4-6 weeks after that. I would gladly take a 4-6 week wait and have to pay $10,000 than have to wait another 3 or more years with this broken system.

As a transgender man at the age of 23, I was meant to have a masculine chest since birth, but being born in the wrong body, that didn't happen. I have been bodybuilding for over four years as a way to reconstruct my chest to be as masculine as possible while I await my surgery. Obviously there’s only so much that can be done, which is the point where I’m at. I need top surgery to fully associate with my body and correct the past 23 years of dysphoria. I feel like I missed out on many everyday opportunities other men have gotten to experience but I could not. A dream of mine to be able to go swimming without regard of what my body looks like, to feel comfortable in my own skin.

For many trans people, the cost of top surgery makes this necessary procedure seem like an impossibility. I have been binding my chest for years- and deal with chronic pain from a combination of binding, and get awkward questions about it from guys at the gym. This wouldn't just help me feel more comfortable and happy with myself and my body as a whole,  but it would also give me the chance to get even more serious about my bodybuilding since I would need this surgery done before I could compete in any shows.

Dr. Sajan in Seattle will be the doctor performing my surgery for $10,000. My plan is to raise as much money as I can for this so the loan I take out wont completely destroy me. So I have traveled to the interwebs for help, and have stumbled across GoFundMe, and I hoping with the support of my community and friends and I can finally make my dreams come true and become the man that I have always been inside. Thank you for taking the time to check out my page and donate, you are truly making a difference in my life.