To Eat and to Yeet

Heyas!

My name is Mani [MAH-nee] Blunt, and I'm having surgery on July 22nd!

No no, don't be alarmed! this is a good surgery! One that I've dreamed about and longed for, for many long years.

You see, I'm transgender. They told me I was a girl when I was born, but I didn't wholly buy into that theory, even long before I knew that there was a physiological difference between Male and Female. I remember as far back as preschool, standing in line for the Boy's Restroom, because that's where I inherently thought I was supposed to "Go" (this worked a few times before someone tattled on me, and the teachers wouldn't let it happen again... not that any of us were old enough to comprehend why there was such a difference).

Throughout puberty, I remember looking at my body and feeling a sense of shame, like "I'm not supposed to look at these -- these aren't appropriate for me".

I went through some brief periods of embracing my feminine qualities, but most of it was performative to try to be "likable" -- it was easier to pretend I was a Straight Girl than to convince people I was actually a Gay Boy, especially in the Southeast US with my upbringing. It also wasn't until my 20s when I learned that people like me are actually normal??? I know, right? Wild how brains work, and how important representation is.

When I moved out from under my parents' roof, I started exploring gender expression. I played around with the idea of gender fluidity (because, let's be real, it is very fluid when you're willing to remove the shackles of Societal Norms and Gender Roles); but the more I explored masculinity, the more it felt like the right fit for me. The more I felt less like an alien, the more I felt at home with myself.

He/him? gimme! Sir? Yes, sir~ Mister Blunt? Can't miss!

But who am I, and why does all of this matter?

I'm a friend. A cousin. A son, a brother, a nephew, a colleague... I'm someone you know, or someone your friend knows.

I'm a comedian. I'm an artist, a photographer. I'm a mentor, facilitator, and moderator.

I'm an advocate for trans education and medical education -- for trans education within medical education. I teach forensic nurses how to do a pelvic exam for assault survivors. I play as a fake patient for med students to practice techniques on, and coach them on their bedside manner.

I'm just one guy, trying to carry several huge and broken pieces of my world and learning how to mend them. But to free up my arms a little, I need to get something off of my chest.

Two "Somethings"

Insurance has approved to cover my Gender-Affirming Complete Mastectomy on July 22, 2021 (this summer, holy heck). They're going to cover the procedure 100%, which is more than most people can say by far -- I consider myself terribly blessed and fortunate, considering the hurdles I've had to jump over the last 6 years to get to this point. And while this is a huge amount of expense that I don't have to be concerned about, there are some others that I need to request some assistance with:

• Bills. I will be unable to work for about 2 weeks -- and my surgery date lands right at the end of the month, with rent due while I'm out of commission.
• Surgery Copay -- $150 doesn't sound like a lot compared to some medical costs, but it is a lot for someone who lives paycheck-to-paycheck and needs a little boost from friends to make sure the gas lasts until payday.
• Other medical expenses -- I have meds that I take daily, I will have pain meds and antibiotics post-op, and I will likely need to pay a sum to the anesthesiology team keeping me knocked out while I'm being worked on.
• Groceries and food -- Since I won't be able to do much lifting for 4~6 weeks, I'm going to need to enlist help getting some necessities now and again. I'm sure that some of my friends will be able to help a fair majority of the time, but I don't want to be any kind of burden more than I need to be for recovery. My mobility (including driving) will be otherwise limited about 2 of those weeks.

In breaking down my finances, I determined that about $1300+ of my $4000 goal is one month of bills -- rent, utilities, phone, internet, etc. This is with the removal of some of my recreational recurring payments; my largest chunks come from rent, insurance, and car payment. It's my hope that the rest of this money can cover the medical expenses that insurance will have me paying the rest of, as well as any additional needs and expenses during my time out of work.

This isn't going to be an easy recovery... but it is going to be a rewarding one. Any amount that you can put toward helping me save up would be an incredible help, to give me one less thing to worry about as we get closer to July.

Thank you for taking your time to read, and even many more thanks to those who are able to contribute to helping me feel more Me <3

Howl at ya later!

Mani (Manic Wolf Art) Blunt