My name is Bonnie and I am a transgender woman living in Chicago, raising money for my upcoming FFS in December. I have been transitioning since 2018, and have been working towards getting FFS for over half a decade, as it would mean an enormous positive change for my mental and physical well-being, comfort and safety. However, it has long been out of reach thanks to unstable employment/insurance coverage, logistical woes and the fact I have been living on my own and solely supporting myself financially since I came out, putting myself through college in the process. I finally was able to graduate last December after a seven-year roller coaster ride, but trying to navigate the professional world as a transgender woman I could only find temporary part-time employment. After my term with my previous job ended in August, I was luckily and finally able to secure a full-time position with benefits after two months of searching, working the front desk in an academic office. This meant I could go ahead with my FFS date that had been in limbo once I lost my insurance coverage after graduating.

My insurance has authorized most of the procedure, except for a key part of it that was not processed due to high denial rates. The surgical center informed me that because of this, I will owe $4500 at the time of my pre-op appointment in late November - having just switched to a new job after scraping by on part-time employment for most of this year, I still have debts to pay off due to the cost of living and student loans, and do not have even close to $4500 on hand. I've set the goal for $6000 to account for this impending charge, as well as the extra costs incurred from related medical expenses (CT scan, pre-op H&P, coinsurance payment) and the fact I will be unable to work for a month and don't qualify for extended sick time or medical leave from my job (because I only started a month ago). All funds will help me with medical and recovery costs.

I have been hesitant to ask for financial support for this surgery, but given my current financial situation any bit, large or small, gone towards offsetting these costs would help me out more than I can express in words. Thank you for reading, and thank you to my community both in Chicago and across the country, who are the main reason I am still alive and well today.

Love,

Bonnie