Help R' Eliana Recover Post-Surgery

This is a message from R' Eliana:

Gender affirming care is life saving and life giving. I’ve dreamed for a decade of what life could be like post surgery, living more fully as myself. Because I have Graves Disease there were obstacles to manage, and the road has been long. I had almost given up when I found a medical team who is confident in giving me clearance for the surgery. I finally received a date for mid-February!

The first few days after surgery are the most intense, and unfortunately, my early recovery support plan fell through. I will have limited mobility and will need support to walk, prepare meals, and monitor the procedure area. This will take a more constant presence than drop in visits (which I have scheduled for later in recovery). Because I am still feeling the financial repercussions of my father's sudden passing, as well as helping support my mother, I am scrambling to cover the unforeseen cost of hiring care for the first 4 days after surgery as well as recovery materials that were originally going to be provided for me.

Trans healthcare and trans rights are under attack in this country. It will only become more complicated to access gender affirming care in the coming months and years. I can’t imagine putting this procedure on hold now that I have almost everything in place.

I am beyond grateful to be in community with those who want to ensure I have this surgery on time with the support I need. I’ll never be able to adequately express what it means to me.

My surgery is scheduled for Tu b’Shvat, the new year for the trees. On this day we plant seeds for what we hope to see in the year ahead. One of the seeds I am planting is that this surgery will enable me to continue to grow stronger, thrive more sweetly, and continue offering support to all those I am in community with in the years ahead so that we can all flourish.

Thank you for considering and helping make this long time dream a reality.