The Top Chop - Help Riley Get Top Surgery
Donation protected
I'm unable to bind anymore due to a chronic medical condition
My name is Riley (ze/zim/zir or he/him/his) and after a pretty hellish health journey I am taking the rather scary step to reach out for support in getting my top surgery.
For four months I was living in emergency accommodation riddled with black mould which gave me a number of respiratory issues and sent me to hospital 3 times in 3 months. Despite now being securely housed, these issues have triggered significantly more difficulty breathing as well as number of chronic conditions including Fibromyalgia, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and Costochondritis. The latter is inflamation of the cartilage where the ribcage meets the sternum. Typically this only affects one area of the chest and is flared up only through a lot of physical exertion. However, mine appears to have aggravated the entirety of my sternum, my front ribs and some of my back ribs, and can be flared up simply by pulling open a door, lifting a kettle or even laughing. This means there is little chance of things ever improving. My Fibromyalgia is present in my neck, shoulders, back, chest, hips and knees, while Costochondritis causes extreme pain which has been described as feeling like broken ribs or a heart attack, and any compression on my chest or back whatsoever makes the pain far far worse for days afterwards. Therefore, not only can I not bind, but I can't even wear sports bars or bralettes.
I am not small chested and the dysphoria and general mental health decline this is causing me is enormous, as much as I've been trying to pretend otherwise. I put myself through so much additional pain just wearing sports bras, despite the fact they do virtually nothing to alleviate dysphoria, and it's beginning to get to the point where it's stopping me from leaving the house, or ruining any time I spend in public multiple times a week. I am also autistic and the sensory aggrevation caused by sports bras and bralettes causes me immense discomfort. I've only been on the GIC waiting list for 2 years and I know that I'm still years away from even an initial appointment. I feel as if my only option, to keep me from feeling this physical and mental pain, is to go private, and especially as I can only work part-time at the moment, I can't do that by myself.
I completely understand that not everyone is able to donate much, or anything, and of course that's more than okay. Even if you could just share this around, I would appreciate it so much.
Thank you so much for reading ❤️
For four months I was living in emergency accommodation riddled with black mould which gave me a number of respiratory issues and sent me to hospital 3 times in 3 months. Despite now being securely housed, these issues have triggered significantly more difficulty breathing as well as number of chronic conditions including Fibromyalgia, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and Costochondritis. The latter is inflamation of the cartilage where the ribcage meets the sternum. Typically this only affects one area of the chest and is flared up only through a lot of physical exertion. However, mine appears to have aggravated the entirety of my sternum, my front ribs and some of my back ribs, and can be flared up simply by pulling open a door, lifting a kettle or even laughing. This means there is little chance of things ever improving. My Fibromyalgia is present in my neck, shoulders, back, chest, hips and knees, while Costochondritis causes extreme pain which has been described as feeling like broken ribs or a heart attack, and any compression on my chest or back whatsoever makes the pain far far worse for days afterwards. Therefore, not only can I not bind, but I can't even wear sports bars or bralettes.
I am not small chested and the dysphoria and general mental health decline this is causing me is enormous, as much as I've been trying to pretend otherwise. I put myself through so much additional pain just wearing sports bras, despite the fact they do virtually nothing to alleviate dysphoria, and it's beginning to get to the point where it's stopping me from leaving the house, or ruining any time I spend in public multiple times a week. I am also autistic and the sensory aggrevation caused by sports bras and bralettes causes me immense discomfort. I've only been on the GIC waiting list for 2 years and I know that I'm still years away from even an initial appointment. I feel as if my only option, to keep me from feeling this physical and mental pain, is to go private, and especially as I can only work part-time at the moment, I can't do that by myself.
I completely understand that not everyone is able to donate much, or anything, and of course that's more than okay. Even if you could just share this around, I would appreciate it so much.
Thank you so much for reading ❤️
Organizer
Riley-Fynn Morrell
Organizer
England