Help Ash pay for Top Surgery !

Hi, my name is Ash (they/he), I am a 24-year-old trans boy, and this gofundme page is to help me raise money for my top surgery.

As a trans person, I really struggle with gender dysphoria day to day. The worst of my dysphoria is caused by my chest, and I'm desperate to change this area of my appearance. Every time I get dressed, shower, or see my chest, I feel the pain of seeing a body that doesn't match how I see myself. I can't tell you how many tears I've cried over my chest not looking like a boy's. It is the most significant setback to my confidence and sense of self.

I have a referral to an NHS gender clinic, but the wait is 49 months for a first appointment, so I am seeking private treatment. I am very fortunate and have been able to start hormone treatment (June 2022) and have been able to fund this myself, but surgery is a large lump sum that I don’t have. I currently run my own small business, and work part-time, and am setting aside as much as I can to save up (I have nearly a grand saved already), but I still need help. I hope to be able to undergo top surgery with Dr. Miles Berry in London; he is a very experienced surgeon and shares the outcomes of his procedures on his account on Instagram, which is dedicated to his top surgery clients. His price for the procedure ranges (depending on chest size) from £8000 - £9000, and I'll be paying for the consultation session myself. After this, I will adjust the fundraising goal depending on his assessment and what he believes it will cost. As I have mentioned, I have already started setting aside some money for the procedure and will continue to do so when I can, but I find myself needing to fundraise most of the money.

It hurts my pride to have to ask for financial help like this, but I am unlikely to be able to raise this much by myself any time soon, and the longer I find myself having to wait to live life as myself in a body that feels like mine, the more pain it is causing me. I don’t want to have to ask for more than I need, so as I put aside money on my own, I will be bringing the goal down to reflect that! I hope that one day after I’ve had my own top surgery, I will be in a position to pay my community back and contribute to other trans-masc folks' fundraisers.

Thank you in advance for any contribution you might make to my cause and for reading this!

~ Ash R

EDIT (June 2023): Lowered goal from 8000 to 7200 to reflect my own savings for surgery as they currently stand.

EDIT (January 2024): Lowered goal from 7200 to 5000 to reflect my own savings for surgery as they currently stand.