Help Magda get FFS (facial feminisation surgery)

My name is Magda, I am a trans woman living in London. I work as a community organiser, and disability support worker - I’ve been running a community group for trans women called TFS (Trans Fem Social) for the last 4 years. I need help covering surgery costs for Facial Feminisation Surgery. I am not able to cover these funds without community help.

Over the last years (since 2020) I have become increasingly more disabled following covid. This includes fatigue, post-exertional malaise and frailty. Currently, my work doesn’t leave me enough disposable income to be able to save and afford this surgery, and I am unable to work more than I currently do. Recently I’ve started new meds for OCD (indicated recently in an assessment as moderate to severe) which has improved my MH, despite difficult side effects. I find all of this affects my daily living and combined with dysphoria and transphobia, genuinely stops me leaving the house very often.

Since 2018 I have struggled often to leave the house and to let my face be seen in public. I still experience daily a strong general feeling of unease following physical and verbal assaults over last few years (variously: being grabbed, death threats, spat at), which worsens when I am ill.

Having this procedure would be an enormous change to my quality of life and my ability to function in public and feel safer. I very often do not feel like I am in my own body, and this surgery would help alleviate that dysphoria. In my specific instance, facial feminisation would be forehead reduction, orbital rim shave, brow/temporal lifting, hairline lowering, rhinoplasty and tracheal shave. These funds cover my outstanding surgery fees, preoperative tests (bloods, dentist x-ray, consultation) and currency conversion fees. My aim is to have FFS in October.

I have been out as a trans woman since 2018, on the GIC waiting list since 2020 (still unseen lol), and I am currently with a pilot clinic TransPlus in London for blood-monitoring.

Please support our health and social organisations materially. The government is completely content to kill trans people. I’ve lost several trans friends and acquaintances over the last few years to suicide and medical neglect (people should read Morgan’s piece on shroud-waving https://www.autostraddle.com/shroud-waving-on-trans-death-callousness-ancestors/ ). I still find it hard to register myself as vulnerable and ask for support.

I am very lucky to have a gorgeous, wonderful community of people around me, many of whom know about my health and share the same, or similar experiences. You know who you are: I love you deeply and richly.

Thank you to Ivy and Paul for helping me set this up <3

Magda x