Logan’s gender affirmation surgery

TL;DR: Please help me pay for gender affirmation surgery!

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(Part of) my gender realization story:

Some of you know that I went no-contact with my birth family in May 2022. I grew up experiencing a fair amount of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse as well as medical neglect. Even though I hadn’t lived with either parent full-time in 5+ years, they still had an unfortunate hold over my life and were unafraid to share their homophobic, transphobic, and polyphobic views, and shame me for straying away from what they deemed an appropriate and successful life looked like. Love was conditional and dependent upon not rocking the boat. After a year and a half of therapy and processing, I was finally able to see the amount of harm their presence in my life continued to do and how it was hindering my mental health and self-growth. I sent goodbye text messages and blocked their contacts from my phone. While I continue to grieve my childhood and what I thought my adult relationship with my family could look like, I have not looked back once. This has been the most pivotal moment in my life and life has looked drastically different since.

My mental health quickly took a 180° turn in the best way. I was able to see that what I thought was Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder were really just trauma responses. Once I stepped away from my abusers and ended the ongoing trauma, it also ended those responses. The Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) is still present, but has very much been my best tool in getting to know and love myself for the first time in my life.

What also became apparent was how significant my Gender Dysphoria was playing a role in my life. I couldn’t realize it when I was still being actively traumatized, but I had completely dissociated from my body. Thoughts of surgically modifying my body were never considered. It would have never been safe to pursue those actions knowing how shamed, mocked, and abused I would have been by my birth family. It wasn’t even safe to think about it. It took a few months after going no-contact, but I came to realize how uncomfortable and in-pain I was moving through life both in public and private as a cisgender woman. I came out socially and professionally as nonbinary, using exclusively they/them pronouns, before eventually launching my chosen name, Logan Amory June, which I have been using for 1 year this month. The dysphoria hit me like a freight train. Once I saw it, I couldn’t un-see it. My depression and suicidal ideation flared up again in a scary way. Methods of binding my chest all led to physical pain and a constant reminder that what I am on the outside is not what I am on the inside.

I quickly started doing research on top surgery, but the typical double mastectomy wasn’t fully representing my gender. It frustrated me that even after an expensive surgery with a long recovery, I still wouldn’t look how I perceived myself to be. I then came across Dr. Sidhbh Gallagher in Miami, FL. Her masculoplasty plus procedure is exactly what I was looking for. Rather than share the personal specifics in what I want my body to look like post-op (that is for Dr. Gallagher and myself) you can read up more on her techniques here if you’re interested —> https://gallagherplasticsurgery.com/gender-affirmation-surgery/female-to-male-procedures/#masculoplasty

Dr. Gallagher is unfortunately out-of-network with my insurance, who will only cover a small portion IF everything goes according to plan. We know how insurance companies can be. Because Dr. Gallagher is in Miami, FL, my partner and I have additional travel fees to think about as well (flights, lodging, meals). Surgery was recently scheduled for November 14, 2023!!! This decision has not been made lightly and I firmly believe it will make a positive and lifesaving difference in just about every aspect of my life.

Asking for money/being financially dependent is rooted in my trauma and it has not been easy to be outwardly vulnerable to make this request. If you have anything to contribute, it is MUCH appreciated and will be accepted with an extraordinary amount of gratitude. I’d also love to send personalized thank you letters, if you are comfortable sharing your name and address with me. If you cannot financially contribute, UNDERSTOOD. Please consider sharing the link to this GoFundMe. If that isn’t in your wheelhouse either, UNDERSTOOD. Thank you for reading this far. ❤️

Warmly,

Logan Amory June