Madison's Top Surgery Fund ❣️

Howdy! My name is Madison Baker (they/them) I'm a 29 yr old queer musician living in Austin, Texas. I created this GoFundMe because I'm seeking help from my community and beyond to raise funds for my upcoming top surgery. As of right now, I do not have a surgery date solidified yet as I am still waiting to finalize the consultation process, but I am preparing for the surgery to take place potentially sometime as early as this summer.

My gender journey has taken many detours and unexpected turns (as they tend to do, I'm discovering.) I always felt as though I didn't quite fit within the "girl" or "boy" boxes but had no way of exploring that in a safe and healthy way where I was raised. I only began to acknowledge and consciously explore my queerness in my early 20s after a couple years post-moving away from the very conservative, rural, small East Texas town I grew up in. By this time, I certainly knew that I was a part of the LGBTQIA+ community but I still didn't quite know where I fit within it. I had very few examples of queer people around me growing up, aside from a few exceptions-- most of whom were not able to safely come out due to where we lived.

I did not meet a transgender person until I went to college in Austin in 2014, which is truly baffling to me. Over the years that followed, I met and befriended more queer people with a wide array of different backgrounds and saw fragments of myself reflecting back at me within them. It was confusing and sad and hard, because they all seemed so effortlessly themselves and even though their lives were far from easy, each of them possessed an inimitable joy. A joy that I lacked. A joy that only becomes available to you once you acknowledge and allow your authentic self to take up space.

In 2021, after an incredibly long and painful period of denial, questioning, and uncertainty, I came out as transgender to my family and close friends. The pandemic really provided me the time and space to sit with myself for the first time in maybe?? my entire life?? and actually consider what it would mean if I truly identified as trans. I was very scared to come out but I knew that if I didn't, it would cost me my life. It's 2025 now (somehow lol) and I've been out as trans/non-binary for 4 years. I am so grateful that I have gotten to this point in my journey because I never really knew how I could survive this long trapped within a physical body and a gender binary that did not feel like mine. But, here I am! I will not abandon myself! Now, the time has come to take the next step and get the life-saving care that I deserve: top surgery. This is something I have wanted to do for a lifetime but have been too terrified to pursue. Due to its size, my chest not only causes me extreme, persistent body dysphoria that is very damaging to my mental health, but also significant physical discomfort that I can no longer ignore and just deal with. I deserve to feel at home in my own body. I deserve to look in the mirror and recognize the person that is reflected back to me.

I have insurance but it is extremely difficult to use (go figure!) and is not accepted by the surgeon I have chosen. I am going to try to see if insurance will step in for any of this but I have done extensive research and it is highly unlikely that they will pay for anything related to this procedure so I am not banking on it. I have set the fundraising goal amount to be $20,000 to account for the costs of the surgery itself, as well as to help cover the cost of missed wages, rent, bills, etc. I am a musician and a bartender, so remote work is not an option for me at either of my jobs. The recovery period is 6-8 weeks before I can fully return to work post-op. My jobs do not provide sick/medical pay, so I am hoping to raise enough money to at least cover my bills and living expenses for when I am recovering so I can let my body heal and rest.

In conclusion, I know that times are very hard right now in numerous ways. Mostly everyone I know is struggling in some way and finding it particularly difficult to make financial ends meet. I extend all the gratitude that I have in my spirit for any amount of funds that you can spare. If you can't financially contribute at this time, simply sharing this in your friend/family networks, social media, etc is a wonderful (and free) way to help me achieve my goals.

If you've read this far, thank you so much for being here and your consideration in making a contribution to this extremely pivotal and important next step in my journey. I have nothing but love for each of you.❣️