Support Char Jean Myers' Top Surgery Journey

I had to do several sessions with therapists to finally manage to do this GoFundMe, to be able to support myself without any fear of judgment and rejection.

So here it is.

I am introducing myself as Char Jean Myers. Pronouns for hearing folks are they/them. Pronouns are not really much of a thing in ASL.

I have kept this to myself for nearly five years, and only a handful of people know this about me while the rest of the people are at arm's length. I have been trying to get top surgery, a procedure that alters my chest to achieve a more masculine appearance, primarily for transgender and non-binary individuals, since 2020. The reason it took me so long is because I was trying to save money and also made many attempts with my insurance—Medicare/Medicaid—which I could not get anywhere with, despite several surgeons and two therapists' letters. I am way past the point of continuing to discuss insurance without a headache or jumping through more hoops... I want to get it done.

I got my date for the surgery before 2024 was over, and then on March 13th, 2025, a Kansas University surgeon told me that they could not make it work with my insurance. They gave me the cost for it, and it is about $6,200. I already prepared for that worst-case scenario. I decided that I am not going to lose my date on August 19th this year. It is going to happen. I signed up for a loan that would only help with $4,000 in credit. I have some savings that would cover the remainder; however, that may not cover any extra complications either during or after the surgery. I am being fully transparent and can manage with the debt. However, I cannot deny this will definitely slow me down with my other life goals. I am still looking for a real decent job. Right now, I am on SSI and doing food deliveries through Uber, and I will try others such as DoorDash soon. Every cent counts toward my surgery and possibly my recovery journey. I do not want to put this off any longer, especially in this political situation right now.

I wrote another paragraph but decided that it was not needed. I do not need to defend myself for the decisions I made in the last five years nor explain my life story just yet. This GoFundMe is me asking for support in any form. I am already doing the hardest thing: allowing myself to ask for help while feeling undeserving of it. But that is not for me to decide, but for you.