Heathcliff's Top Surgery Fund
Hi friends. I have like... a lot of guilt asking for people to donate to me. I don't feel like I deserve to have this but I am kinda at a point where I feel like my mental health can't survive waiting for the overloaded GIC system to finally get to my name.
So... I kinda need top surgery. A lot. I'm 30 now, and I feel like my life has been put on pause for most of my existence. Right now I'm 4 years into binding full-time and nowhere near an NHS diagnosis of gender dysphoria. As it stands I'm on a waiting list and have been for 31 months. I was told there might be a wait of 18 months, but that's long past now. It feels like there's no end in sight, and it's super frustrating knowing that on the end of this wait for them to see me, there'll be so much more waiting. The waiting times have been pushed back so far beyond what I was told almost three years ago, so there is really no telling how long it will be until I can get the surgery I need. I would be lucky to get surgery in 4 years, and really I've been waiting for this since I realised I was trans 16 years ago.
I don't know if you know this, but binding is terrible. I'm already experiencing the effects of binding after 4 years (painful chest, back aches, lower breathing capacity, difficulty exercising). They recommend you shouldn't wear a binder for more than 6-8 hours but I wear mine all day (16 hours). People say they don't bind some days but for me this would mean not leaving my bed and isolating myself from everyone. I can't do that. 4 more years of waiting is not going to get any easier.
I've already gone private to get hormones to start my medical transition. I've only been able to afford this through the incredible generosity of friends. What I'm proposing now is to approach my doctor with the intent to get a private referral for top surgery and raise the funds for surgery somehow.
Top surgery is expensive! In the UK it's about £6000-7000, taking into consideration referral/consultation costs, travel costs to get to appointments, accommodation, and all the bits and bobs you need in the hospital and for aftercare. I'm not really at all in a position to be able to fund myself. I don't know if this will be successful, nor do I really expect it to be, but I figured it was worth trying and getting a start on it maybe.
Thank you for reading. If you can't donate, a share is really welcome.
