Hi, I’m Artie and I’m raising funds for my partner, Newt (he/they) to get top surgery. He came out age 16, got a gender dysphoria diagnosis at 18, and was being cleared for top surgery age 19. The process was postponed for health and financial reasons and he was put on the NHS waiting list. He is now 27 and still hasn't received his operation.

Newt is disabled and a wheelchair user. When he was 19 he was in an accident that fractured his spine in multiple places, caused multiple other injuries and worsened his already present health struggles. Because of this, and other chronic conditions, we are unable to fly abroad for the cheaper surgery. Anyone with a wheelchair user close to them will be familiar with the gamble of wheelchairs and planes! It is now at a point where binding is causing further damage to his spine, is causing rib dislocations and it is restricting Newt's already limited ability to leave the house.

He has waited over a decade for this, having been aiming for surgery since he was 14, in part due to the accident, the timing of covid and pregnancy, and lately because the GIC made a clerical error (freely admitted by them) which added an extra two years to his wait. Because of this we have decided we need to find 10k to go private in the UK. Waiting lists are getting longer and longer, requirements are getting steeper, and we have no guarantee of when, or if, top surgery will be available to him on the NHS.

We are hoping to raise 2.5k through donations and fundraising efforts. 5k will come from us saving privately and 2.5k from a loan. We wish we could save the whole amount ourselves but there are not enough notches on our belt to tighten it that much! I am Newt’s full time carer and our eldest child is also disabled so I am unable to work. I am however willing to make a fool of myself in the name of fundraising and pretty good at making a meal out of basically nothing so I think these goals are achievable.

Over the next 12 months we will be sharing all our fundraising and money saving efforts. As a visual representation we will be folding an origami crane for every £10 saved or donated following the japanese legend that if you fold 1000 cranes you can be granted one life altering wish. We have both been involved in supporting the community for years in various ways and know the LGBTQ people and their allies are amazing, generous and loving. Every single donation makes a difference. If you want to support us but can’t donate today, please share or follow us on social media to boost our visibility so that we can make this wish come true together.