Mattie needs help paying for bottom surgery

I'm Mattie Schraeder, and I'm recovering from bottom surgery. On June 27th, 2022, my friends and I drove up to Chicago's Rush University for a vaginoplasty with Dr. Loren Schechter.

For those who don't know me, I've been out as transgender since January of 2017. I share many of my experiences on my blog at https://mattie.lgbt and intend to share my experience with surgery and recovery soon.

Fortunately, I have an excellent job that offers good insurance, and I live in a state that requires transgender healthcare to be covered by insurance. Still, healthcare bills are expensive, and my out-of-pocket is nearly $7,000. Today, my insurance approved the hospital stay itself, totaling over $100,000, and I'm responsible for almost $5,000. This total doesn't include surgeon fees; as far as I can tell, this is just the hospital fees.

On top of that, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois is having a spat with the local Springfield Clinic, which makes them currently out of network. Springfield Clinic is the only physical therapy provider in my area, and I start physical therapy on Monday, which will further increase my healthcare costs.

Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a million for spending the time reading my story and blog and considering donating to my GoFundMe.