Support Riley Alexandra's Bottom Surgery Recovery

I'm Riley Alexandra, a proud gay mom to a wonderful child, freelance documentary filmmaker, and a trans woman. I'm asking for your help in funding my recovery from gender confirmation surgery.

I'll be undergoing gender confirmation surgery at a top-tier clinic here in Germany in January 2024. I'm lucky to live in a country where my health insurance covers the cost of actual surgery. It does not, however, cover necessary related costs and recovery living expenses.

As a documentary filmmaker, my work has taken me exciting places, and given me many wonderful opportunities, but without additional help, it cannot support me through surgery and recovery. What savings I had were basically wiped out during the COVID pandemic, as work was hard to come by (or impossible), and, as any trans person will tell you, transitioning costs a lot of money.

The lead up to and recovery period following the surgery will be physically, emotionally, and financially demanding. I will be in the hospital for two weeks, and needing to be adhering to a very strict recovery regimen at home for another six weeks - if everything goes well. I will not be able to work during this time, and, as a freelancer, this means zero income. Even after these two months, I may be impaired from working full time for considerably longer.

There are a lot of costs beyond the actual surgery, which I'm asking for your help in covering. Hair removal prior is recommended and will ease the surgery itself, but isn't covered by health insurance. Neither are the five trips (if all goes well) to the hospital at the other end of Germany. Medical devices, such as dilators and special cushions to enable me to sit, are also not covered. Also not covered is pre- and post-operative psychotherapy. Beyond this, at best two months of no income means I need help covering necessities such as rent, child care and support, food, and utilities.

Not to put too fine a point on it: It is a scary time to be trans, even in tolerant countries such as Germany. Just last week, a high court tried to ban health insurers from covering any kind of transitional care. Anti-trans violence is rising at alarming levels, as are attempts to ban us from sports, from teaching, from basically existing in general. Contributing to my GoFundMe (and those of other trans people in need) is a form of direct action you can take to support our lives.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Riley Alexandra