The Story So Far: Claire’s Journey (Trans Surgery)

Hi, my name is Claire, (instagram: claire_marie_r) a woman who happens to have been trans. I come from a small town in the middle of upstate New York where being true to yourself isn't as widely accepted.

I first began to realize something big was different for me when I was going through puberty. My female classmates had started to develop and I was left behind. I was raised Catholic and had never heard of body envy until it hit me, but I still didn’t understand what was going on so I kept my feelings to myself for a long time, haunting me as I tried to ignore them.

When I was 22, I discovered the trans community and everything made sense. All of the feelings I had been suppressing came to light and I felt a sense of truth.

Through the guidance of friends and medical research (WPATH 8), I started to experiment with hormones while I wrestled with the misinformation I had heard my whole life. During this process, I found my clarity. This is who I am supposed to be in my heart.

At this point, I began to seek out professional medical care for my transition and treatment. While I know, truly, that this is my truth and my path, I have run into roadblock after roadblock, leaving me disheartened and scared. Some of the many trials I have experienced are familiar to many on their own similar journey, such as exorbitant medical expenses, and the financial and legal struggles involving changing my legal name and gender. Up until now, I have been managing to scrape by, but recently I have experienced hardships that have taken away any semblance of financial security I thought I had, with the worst possible timing.

My full vaginoplasty sex reassignment surgery is scheduled for October 30th, 2024. This life-saving procedure is seeming more and more out of reach by the day. I’ve calculated a rough estimate of the costs of having to live in New York City for a month postoperative. 6 days in the hospital plus a month staying in an Airbnb located within an hour of the hospital. In addition, I have food, travel, medical supplies, and other miscellaneous costs over the next six months. My expenses total close to $5300 and this doesn’t even cover my average expenses of rent, electric, etc back home, which I hate to even mention, but it doesn’t go away.

I am asking you to help me improve my quality of life, revise what feels like damage, and give me a chance to exist in this world as my own unique self.

This takes a great toll on me to even ask for help, but if I have to postpone this operation I will have to wait an additional 1.5 to 2 years until late 2026, which is staggering to even think about. Please share my story and I hope I can encourage others to be true to themselves. It’s been a long time coming.

Please consider supporting me on my journey and help with normalizing acceptance of LGBTQIA+ individuals who might be a part of your life. We all have our journeys. Come with me on mine.