TaTa's for Now Top Surgery Help
Donation protected
Until the age of 16 or 17, I didn't have the vocabulary to accurately express my long felt experiences of dysphoria caused by the incongruence of being a non binary person forced to live within an unnatural binary mold. Caving into the pressures of my parents, my peers, and the widely accepted and hardly questioned "laws" of the gender binary, I sought safety by conforming to what I perceived as the ideal self that I had learned to be from my experiences.
As I grew older, I began to realize that maintaining this image to please others was exhausting and unsustainable. At 18 I came out to my partner, and later to my brother, who has always been my most supportive family member. This same year, I moved away from home and started living more authentically by coming out as transmasculine and only going by a shortened version of my chosen name, Andrew. Transitioning has been a much longer process than I anticipated, and I am hopeful that top surgery will come sooner rather than later, but waiting is agonizing at times.
I work full time in retail, and I live in a modest studio apartment with my partner Joel and our four guinea pigs: Reggie, Biaggio, Serius, and Ron. I spend my free time listening to music, watching educational videos, crafting, and relaxing with my close friends. I dream of becoming a therapist, or someone who works closely with individuals in the LGBTQ community who need more support.
For now, I am one individual of the vast queer community that needs support. Please help lift both a literal and metaphorical weight of my chest by donating any amount of money to my dysphoria relief fund. With the money donated, I will pay for the removal of my breasts, and masculinization of my chest region. Any aditional funds left over will be donated towards another gender alignment surgery for a transgender person in need. I plan on having my surgery done by Dr. Tony Mangubat and his team at La Belle Vie Cosmetic located in Tukwila, Washington. He gave me a quote of $8,500 out of pocket for breast removal and chest reconstruction. As I live in Washington state, but not in the same county as La Belle Vie, my insurance considers this office out of network, meaning I will be paying at least 40% of that total, as well as at least part of my $2,500 deductable for the insurance year. I will also need to pay for travel to and from the office for another pre surgery appointment, the actual surgery day, and at least four after surgery appointments, as well as after care dressings and medications. I don't expect my whole surgery to be covered by insurance and other people, but it would be a huge blessing to me to be able to have my surgery sooner with the help of others, rather than much later because saving that much money would take quite a while with my current financial status.
It took me over a year and a half to start hormones through my primary care office because that's how long it took my then Primary Care Physician to decide I really am who I say I am. Over two and a half years later, I have just recently recieved a confirmation letter that my insurance deems my top surgery medically necessary. Now, at the age of 23, I am still far from the amount of money I would need in my bank account to proceed with the surgery. Please help me get top surgery by donating to my fundraiser. If you know me personally, you know how very important this surgery is for me and my mental health and wellbeing.
As I grew older, I began to realize that maintaining this image to please others was exhausting and unsustainable. At 18 I came out to my partner, and later to my brother, who has always been my most supportive family member. This same year, I moved away from home and started living more authentically by coming out as transmasculine and only going by a shortened version of my chosen name, Andrew. Transitioning has been a much longer process than I anticipated, and I am hopeful that top surgery will come sooner rather than later, but waiting is agonizing at times.
I work full time in retail, and I live in a modest studio apartment with my partner Joel and our four guinea pigs: Reggie, Biaggio, Serius, and Ron. I spend my free time listening to music, watching educational videos, crafting, and relaxing with my close friends. I dream of becoming a therapist, or someone who works closely with individuals in the LGBTQ community who need more support.
For now, I am one individual of the vast queer community that needs support. Please help lift both a literal and metaphorical weight of my chest by donating any amount of money to my dysphoria relief fund. With the money donated, I will pay for the removal of my breasts, and masculinization of my chest region. Any aditional funds left over will be donated towards another gender alignment surgery for a transgender person in need. I plan on having my surgery done by Dr. Tony Mangubat and his team at La Belle Vie Cosmetic located in Tukwila, Washington. He gave me a quote of $8,500 out of pocket for breast removal and chest reconstruction. As I live in Washington state, but not in the same county as La Belle Vie, my insurance considers this office out of network, meaning I will be paying at least 40% of that total, as well as at least part of my $2,500 deductable for the insurance year. I will also need to pay for travel to and from the office for another pre surgery appointment, the actual surgery day, and at least four after surgery appointments, as well as after care dressings and medications. I don't expect my whole surgery to be covered by insurance and other people, but it would be a huge blessing to me to be able to have my surgery sooner with the help of others, rather than much later because saving that much money would take quite a while with my current financial status.
It took me over a year and a half to start hormones through my primary care office because that's how long it took my then Primary Care Physician to decide I really am who I say I am. Over two and a half years later, I have just recently recieved a confirmation letter that my insurance deems my top surgery medically necessary. Now, at the age of 23, I am still far from the amount of money I would need in my bank account to proceed with the surgery. Please help me get top surgery by donating to my fundraiser. If you know me personally, you know how very important this surgery is for me and my mental health and wellbeing.
Organizer
Andrew Secules
Organizer
Bellingham, WA
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