I am fundraising for my sweet friend Rai's gender affirming bottom surgery! Here are her words below:

--------

Hello, my name is Rai (she/her), and I am a transfemme Southeast Asian refugee and covid cautious artist based on Ohlone land, and I am crowdfunding for my gender affirming bottom surgery (vaginoplasty) happening on October 27th after being laid off from my job of 5 years unexpectedly in July, 3 months before my surgery.

I have been dreaming of this surgery for the last 6+ years. I actually tried pursuing bottom surgery in 2021, yet the high cost, the commitment of weekly electrolysis and the pain of hair removal preparation for over a year for the surgery, living conditions, and financial stability were too high of barriers to make that dream a reality. This year, after making a commitment to root deeper into myself and receiving the support of my loved ones, I decided to restart my vaginoplasty process and reprioritized my entire life to make it happen.

This has only felt possible because I finally had a “stable” job and health insurance for the first time in my life. I’ve lived in survival mode for such a long time that I never imagined bottom surgery, not even transitioning, would be possible. Once things were finally starting to settle and I felt like this dream was possible, I was abruptly laid off with zero notice, completely derailing my plans. The addition of financial insecurity on top of the extremely high cost of surgery and extensive recovery has increased the amount of stress related to the surgery tenfold.

From growing up displaced and doing child labor in Vietnam, to being homeless in the Bay, losing familial connections, constant financial and housing instability, and overall lack of access to resources, the decision to commit to a gender affirming and life-saving surgery like this meant that for the first time in my life, I believe that I have a future worth living for. My journey of growing and healing through traumas, transitioning, rooting and building a community of loved ones I am committed to for life, has slowly shifted and expanded my world of possibilities beyond survival.

I am now 6 years into my medical transition, with a surgery date almost a month away that’ll be 4 days before my 30th birthday, with no job and financial stability anymore. And despite all of that, I am so excited and scared to go through this process and to ask (and receive!) the support of my community and loved ones to make this all happen, no matter how vulnerable it feels!

My target goal is $10,000, with a minimum goal of $6000 and a stretch of $12,000 to support the following costs:

Grand Total: $9483 (not including rent, insurance premiums, quality of life support, and the medical costs above that weren’t included in the estimate)

If you need some silly lil special numbers, can you donate any of these towards my goal?

Receiving your support would mean the world to me, and I would appreciate any and all the help I can get, whether that’s through donating, spreading the word, or signing up for my meal train, or even being down to be part of my care team!

P.S There may be a bottom surgery fundraiser show/event happening mid October, more details to come!