Jack Wolf’s Top Surgery: Getting This Off My Chest

Hello! My name is Jack Wolf, a 22-year-old trans man. I’ve been dreaming of this day since I was 13 years old! (But would definitely have dreamed before that if I knew what top surgery was!) I am approved for top surgery this November!!! I’ll be going with Dr. Kong and getting double-incision top surgery. (Although I may push the surgery date further for financial reasons :( ) This GoFundMe is for covering all costs of surgery and after! For recovery supplies, help paying the bills while I recover for 6 weeks, for any emergency or revision surgery needed that insurance will not cover, and for any co-pays of the surgery itself. I’m very grateful to be here and able to share my story. If you donate or share, thank you so much. This is my dream come true and very important to me. As some proof of that, I’ve been hitting the gym for the last 8 months to build muscle in my chest and lose weight to ensure my results are as flawless as possible! I also have had to run around doing crazy paperwork for a year to even get approved and search for a surgeon for 2 years! It’s been a long time coming! These funds you donate will save my life, quite literally. I will finally be able to be who I am fully. If you donate, you're making my dream come true without any financial stress. Thank you. ❤️

This is a break-down of exact costs: If a revision is needed it will likely be 5,000-7,000. Recovery supplies are around 200-400 (accounting for the year after surgery of scar massages and aftercare) Co-payments may be 2,500-3,000. Replacement for missing my 6 weeks of work is around 3,000 dollars for bills during recovery!

((The most recent photo of me!))

That’s just a brief summary of my story! Below will be a detailed synopsis of my transition and journey. I have never shared this with many people as I didn’t want many to know I am trans (due to fear of society coming to get me and I’d rather just be seen as a man, sigh) but I feel it is time as I unlock the door to becoming, fully, the real me.

Starting off, growing up I was always a bit different. Many would tell me as a young child that I enjoyed male-coded activities and stated I wanted to be a boy before I even have memory of it! I always enjoyed playing with my brother and doing “manly” things.

(Me in elementary I wore this Dino-onesie a LOT it was my “boyish” clothing. Side-note: I LOVED dinosaurs and strictly only watched/read scientific things about them and documentaries of dinosaurs and other animals, I didn’t watch cartoons until I was 11! I still love dinosaurs )

Although as time went on, I felt more uncomfortable with myself. I didn’t understand why I cried in dresses or had meltdowns putting on makeup. I tried to enjoy it like “everyone else.” I was bullied almost daily throughout school for 1. My weight and 2. My “unladylike” behavior. In 6th grade, I discovered what transgender meant. I was shocked and at first appalled. I didn’t think it was correct. Many told me it’s not right to be that way, so I became a bit transphobic to my own self as I related more and more to the great trans people out there. When I hit 13 and the dreaded puberty started (my chesticles started growing and I discovered top surgery at this time! This is also when I started binding myself, which I still continue to do. I am wearing my binder right now!) I was at my lowest point. I realized that yes, I am a man and I needed to be myself; otherwise, I would hate myself for the rest of my life. I would rather society hate me, since they seemed to anyways, than hating myself.

However, I went through an extreme “hyper-feminine” phase before coming to this conclusion to rule out that I didn’t like being a “girl.” It sucked; I basically tortured myself and became very suicidal. I attempted to take my life during this time. (I’m doing much better now.)

(Me at a fire-event ((I am a part of the MNFEC who set up events and we have two family-owned fire trucks!) with a drawn on mustache and beard. I LOVED getting them but didn’t understand why. Also this photo because I didn’t want to showcase me at my lowest and a funny photo is better!)

I’ve always been someone who HAS to be sure of a decision and does immense research and factual evidence for the decision. Another reason why I am so sure of top surgery. I researched and researched and researched and then came out officially at 13 years old and have been Jack Wolf ever since. I changed my name and gender legally at 16 and started hormones at 18 years old as my family at the time were worried about me starting hormones at 16, which I understood. There have been many roadblocks, and I even got discriminated at my job at 14 for coming out at the time. Screw McDonald’s! I quit very quickly after that. It took time and understanding with my family and my school. I was never angry if they got my pronouns or name wrong. I understood it’s a changing time for them too and hard to understand unless you’ve felt what I was going through. I lost almost all my friendships after I came out as well, but I never hated them for it. I just understood that they were never meant to be my friend. Gender dysphoria (the extreme discomfort with one’s birth sex and characteristics) is a nightmare I wouldn’t wish even on my bullies. I changed the way I walked, talked, and every little thing that I imagined was “girly,” and now if a stranger misgenders me (hello, I have a beard?) it does sting quite a bit, but I still brush it off as if I hadn’t dealt with enough!

(Photo of me at what I think was my first birthday after coming out! Not pictured is a blue cake with a mustache that says “You the man, Jack!” I loved it!)

I’m very fortunate for having such a supporting family and newfound friends throughout college. Speaking of schooling, I ended up doing PSEO or taking college classes from 10th grade to senior year and then started the Vet Tech program for two years! It was one of the most challenging academic things I’ve ever done in my life, but I am so proud of how far I’ve come and everything I’ve accomplished. I ended up passing the VTNE (veterinary technician national exam!) to become certified after graduating the program; now I’ve been working as a Vet Tech for almost 3 years. I love my job saving animals and helping their people. I work with exotics and usual dogs/cats! The reason I mention this is I need 6 weeks of recovery per my surgeon due to my physically demanding job, and as much as I love what I do, it isn’t the most financially supportive career out there, and I will not be getting paid leave (I only work part-time for medical insurance reasons), which is another reason this GoFundMe exists!

(Me doing my vet tech graduation photos with my boy Cupid!)

I know this is a bit long-winded, but I wanted to share as much as possible about my journey for others like me out there who may be reading this and for awesome people like you who read this far! Recently I’ve been hitting the gym 3x a week for the last 8 months and have had a personal trainer (who’s also a trans-man!) to teach me nutrition, workout routines, and more to ensure my body is as strong and healthy as it can be for top surgery and after! I have lost 30 lbs and put on 10 lbs of muscle! After surgery, I am very excited to swim shirtless. I haven’t swam in years due to my extreme gender dysphoria and fear of people “discovering me.” I used to swim all the time and loved it!!! I’ll also be much more comfortable in the gym to continue bettering my body.

Now just fun facts about me feel free to skip this part if your eyes are tired but my eyes are my favorite part of me.

(quick photo of my eyes to prove how great they are. )

I love anime (fav is One Piece), gaming (Skyrim is my childhood favorite! But right now I play Roblox with friends LOL), I love to wear rings, fake piercings, and excessive jewelry + sunglasses (I own 8 pairs and always looking for more), I’m an avid music enjoyer (literally all types of music, my playlist is so scrambled but rock would be my favorite if I had to pick!). Favorite colors are sage green, purples, and black. And of course I love animals, I own 8 rats (Mochi, Sushi, Noodles, Sassy, Miso, Lil Dumpling, Crumbles, and Domino!) in a giant triple critter nation setup (with 3-4 hours of free roam time I’m a bit insane for my animals), 1 dachshund named Cupid (my soul dog), 1 beagle named Harley (my childhood baby), and 1 cat named Garfield (who is set to have a dental and many of his teeth pulled next week so some funds of this GoFundMe will go towards him too!!)

((Garfield in a turkey costume))

((Harley, Cupid, Garfield all smothering me as they usually do, Cupid is doing so right now as I type))

((And 5 of my 8 rat babies! From right to left is Sassy, Sushi, Noodles, Lil Dumping and Mochi!))

Funds will also go towards all of them during my 6 week recovery for their own needs of grooming, cleaning supplies, if they need medication refills, emergency vet visits, and food! Thank my family for helping care for them while I recover!

Last but not least I love creativity and art, I started off making warrior cat OCS (still have them all with great stories and I draw them to this day! WC fans stand up!) I also have many human/other worldly OCs with their own world and powers! (I try to draw them but… humans are not my strong suite LOL) funnily enough one of the characters I made when I was 12 years old is named Jack! (BEFORE I CAME OUT OR PICKED MY NAME LOL, go-figure he’s also my main character I used in role-plays and is close to my heart)

(One of my works of me as a cat Aspenleaf.)

I am also set to go to my first pride event this Saturday to celebrate my journey and upcoming success! If there are any questions about my surgery or you’d like to learn more about me (or my animals or my characters! Lol), please don’t hesitate to contact me through Facebook or other social media. I’ll be posting updates as goals get hit and for after surgery! I am very nervous to be doing this but I am ready! Thank you so much for reading, sharing, or donating. You will be doing so much more than you think!

(Photo of me last new years)

Peace out!