Support Sunshine's Transition and Top Surgery

Hey y'all, my name is Sunshine and I'm raising funds for top surgery and gender affirming medical care. I've struggled with gender dysphoria for decades but shame and fear kept me in the closet as I didn't want a trans identity to be my story. As the years progressed, the dysphoria worsened so I took small steps to express my gender in non-conforming ways such as dressing in masculine clothing, cutting my hair short, wearing a binder, changing my pronouns and legally changing my name to match my gender identity.

I recently came out as trans and started taking bigger steps to obtain gender affirming medical care including hormone therapy and top surgery. With each new step I get closer to finding the truest, most authentic version of myself. I finally feel confident and excited. Excited for a future where I get to be my authentic self. I've been sharing updates about my journey on my social accounts where I've received a lot of love and support. It helped me discover that I don’t have anything to be ashamed of and that my support system is so much bigger than I could have imagined!

I'm reaching out to that support system and anyone else who understands or struggles with gender dysphoria. I need your help right now. In finally taking the steps to seek out gender affirming medical care, I'm finding the costs to be overwhelming.

As an entrepreneur who doesn’t have health insurance and a small business owner whose income is very seasonal, I’m worried about the financial strain this is going to put on my wife and I. Winter is our slow season which means we have very little revenue coming in and I won’t be able to get a winter job like I’ve done in the past because it will take 6-8 weeks to fully recover from the surgery.

Top surgery costs $9,000 and is not covered by insurance. (We don't have insurance anyways). Also of note: I’m a cancer survivor and have the CHEK2 gene, both of which increase my risk for getting breast cancer. The added benefit of having this surgery is that it also serves as a double mastectomy which removes the breast tissue and will ultimately reduce my risk for getting breast cancer. Three years ago when I had insurance, I tried to get the surgery covered, but it was denied because this type of surgery isn’t considered medically necessary unless you have cancer in the breast. I couldn’t afford to pay for the surgery out of pocket back then and I may not have cancer in my breast right now, but this surgery feels medically necessary to me.

Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy. Weekly T injections to help my body match my gender identity and how I see myself costs $50-$150/month without insurance. This will continue indefinitely and requires frequent blood work to ensure my hormone levels are in normal ranges and safe which could cost $150-$250 each time it’s required.

Mental Health Services/Support. As a small business owner who doesn't have health insurance, I haven't been able to access mental health services beyond online support groups, personal research and reflection through reading books and talking with folks I trust. Being able to access and pay for therapy is important to me as I’m going to have a lot of feelings and things to process as my body changes. Three years ago when I had insurance I couldn't find a local therapist that addressed LGBTQ+ issues that I didn’t personally know or have a conflict of interest with. Thankfully things have improved here in the south and last quoted it will cost $125 per session at 2x per month.

All of these expenses will be out of pocket which is why we started this campaign. I’m terrible at asking for help but financial support is the biggest thing we need help with right now. My hope is that my friends, family, allies and anyone who’s experienced gender dysphoria and can relate to my story might be willing and able to offer some financial support to help us get through this season of our life.

With so much love and gratitude,

Sunshine (they/them)