These funds are to support my transgender surgery. I'm having my gender affirming bottom surgery on April 27th, 2026. My portion of the cost of the surgery is significant, and then I have six to eight weeks of recovery time during which I will have no income. I work a contract job with no paid leave. I could reschedule, but I'm afraid, with the political environment in America right now, that my right to even have this surgery could vanish at any moment, and I want to get it done as soon as possible. I've been seeking this surgery my entire life, needing it even when I was too young to understand what it was I needed.

These funds will not only go towards my share of the cost of the surgery, but also pay for food, rent, utility bills, and follow-up medical costs. Even after the surgery I will need to return to the surgeon several times during this period and his office is about 90 miles away, so these funds will cover the cost of gas as well, which has been on the rise lately and doesn't show signs of stopping.

Gender affirming surgery is so very important to so many transgender people. For me, it's been a dream of mine for my entire life. It helps us come to terms with our body, correcting aspects of it to match the mental image of self we carry in our hearts and minds. I understand that this surgery won't solve all the problems in my life, but it will solve the most important one. The one that has tormented me my whole life. The knowledge that something is wrong, and this is the only way I have to fix it. It's a scary time to be transgender now, and I hope we're all able to stick together through these trying times. Please help any way that you can.