Hi my name is Samity, but those who know me likely know me as Tea. I am fundraising to help one of my best friends, Zja, with medical costs for their upcoming surgery.

Zja has been diagnosed with a benign tumour in their ear. However, despite being benign, the tumour has already taken their hearing in that ear and they require urgent surgery to remove it.

Luckily, they have been able to scrape together enough to keep their private health insurance active throughout this diagnostic process, as such they have been able to get a surgery date through the private sector in December.

However, through the public system Zja would be looking at a wait time of over 18months. If this delay happens, and they are unable to have the surgery in December, there is a high chance the tumour could grow further, permanently damaging and eroding their ear bones, and impinging on their big facial nerve and jugular and carotid arteries.

If that happens the tumour would need radiation to manage it (not remove, but manage), and Zja will have further health problems for the rest of their life.

Due to ongoing health issues, job insecurity, and cost of living, Zja has been struggling to find the money they need to cover their out of pocket costs for this surgery, the costs to maintain their health cover until after they can get this surgery, and the costs of expenses to assistant during recovery. This go fund me aims for help Zja cover these costs.

Zja is one of the most giving and caring persons I know. When they were more stable financially, they have always offered help to their friends and family as much as they could. And if not financial help, they have always given what they could in other ways - whether it was emotional support or a hand made gift.

As well as helping their friends and family, Zja has always extremely active in social activism spaces, helping their community and other people whenever they could, in whatever ways they could.

As such, I am really hoping to get support for Zja so they can get this important and time-sensitive surgery.

Thank you for your time reading this and I would just like to implore you one last time to please donate whatever you can. Even $5 will go a long way to help if we all come together for Zja.