Hey! My name is Otto, I am 28 years old, non-binary and I use they/him pronouns. I am originally from The Netherlands but I have lived in Germany for over 4 years now. Since I want this to reach different people from all different times in my life, I will write this in English. Thank you for visiting this page! Let me explain what I‘m raising money for:

It may sound cliché, but since I was a young kid I knew I wasn‘t a girl. I have always dressed masculine and did everything I could to look and present as masculine as possible, because that is how I felt. I didn’t directly know what my feelings meant at the time, but when I look back the signs were always there. One of those signs was that, as a kid, I was always walking around topless whenever I could. When the time came where I had to start wearing a bra or a bikini, I started to struggle with gender dysphoria (the deep emotional distress and unease that a person feels when their internal gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth). I have always disliked my body and especially my chest. I would try to hide it with the way I would stand, walk, wear my clothes… it was on my mind 24/7, every minute of the day. Until I bought my first binder a few years back. A binder is a specialized compression garment used to flatten chest tissue and create a masculine, androgynous, or flat silhouette. It felt like a huge relieve, I could finally carry my body in a way I could never do before. Having the look of a flat chest made me really happy and made me feel like I was finally seeing myself.

But over the years, I noticed it wasn’t the perfect solution. Wearing a binder can come with a lot of struggles like back pain, restrained movement, overheating etc. I have always thought about getting a mastectomy/top surgery. A mastectomy/top surgery is the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. It is most commonly used to treat or prevent breast cancer, but it can also be performed as part of gender-affirming care. I have always dreamed of being able to not wear a tight fitting vest on my body and still feel comfortable wearing a t-shirt or even no shirt at all.

Undergoing this surgery is a big step and I wanted to feel really ready to do it. The last couple of years I’ve had a lot of conversations with fellow trans people, followed a lot of transitions online and gained a lot of info and meaningful insights on the surgery. This year, after thinking about it for years and, I finally had the moment where I felt completely ready to do it. And I’m really happy I am finally starting this journey!

The only problem is, since I am non-binary, the insurance won’t pay for this surgery and I will have to pay for it myself. I had a consultation with the clinic where I would love to do the surgery (Top Surgery Düsseldorf) and after calculating and putting all the costs together, the whole thing will approximately cost around €9250.

Here is an overview of the costs:

Surgery: around €7000

Anasthesia: approximately around €1350

Complication Insurance: approximately around €200

Travelling + Stay: approximately around €600

Compression vest: around €100

I sadly don‘t have €9.250 laying around, and that is why I’m starting this Gofundme! It would mean the world to me to reach this goal, and every little bit helps! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me anytime. And please feel free to share this GoFundMe, that would also help a lot!

Thank you so much!!!