Top surgery: help Gil get this weight off of his chest

25/11/24 Update:

Hi all!

I've successfully saved up enough for top surgery surgeon + anaesthetist fees, as well as for the WPATH assessment! :D

I am on the waiting list still to schedule a surgery date, which I am expecting to be for around June next year (2025).

In the meantime, I am continuing to save money for general purposes and just going about life.

Thank you for all the kind donations so far, it has truly helped me come closer to reaching a milestone on my transition journey and reminded me that community support exists.

Yours truly,

Gil

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Original story:

Hi !!

I'm Gil, and I'm a 23 year old trans man living in Murrumbeena / Melbourne.

I’m looking to get top surgery at the end of this year as part of my medical transition journey, which will cost about $10,000 out of pocket.

On top of that, I am required to pay the full procedure cost upfront before any Medicare rebates and insurance reimbursements. I also need to account for other related costs such as the prerequisite psychological assessment and hire of a support worker to assist me with my recovery as I live alone.

$10,000+ is a lot of money, which I didn’t think I’d ever need to ask for but this is important to me, so here we are.

I’d really like to get this weight off my chest for Christmas this year.

Being able to get top surgery as soon as possible means a lot to me because I struggle with seeing and feeling my chest through my waking moments. I try my best not to think about it if I can but I am not sure how much longer I can sustain this for. I would very much like to look like how I see myself in my mind, be able to recognise myself in the mirror, and finally feel like ‘me’.

My dream is to compete in the men’s division for judo (just locally, I’m quite amateur) and not have to worry about having to wear a shirt. This might seem like a rather small dream, but I just really want to have some of the same ordinary experiences as men my age.

I also look forward to buying and finally wearing a fitted men's suit. Although I work in institutional banking where everyone wears suits, I have been avoiding doing so because I don’t like how the attire accentuates my chest. I think I would look quite handsome in one though, after my surgery.

I don’t feel completely comfortable asking for help, so I’d like to provide gifts in return for your very kind donations according to the following tiers:

I don’t drive but I’d love to meet you somewhere in the middle to personally say thanks and have a quick chat !

If cookies aren’t your thing, I can also make some origami as a more permanent gift.

If donating from afar, thank you so much! I won't be able to deliver fresh homemade cookies and the origami is a little too fragile to send, but you have my gratitude! As an alternative, I am more than happy to put the cost of cookie ingredients into purchasing shelf-stable food and other necessary items for local food initiatives! The two that I have looked into locally are:

This wasn’t the easiest story to tell, so to each and every person that reads this to the end, from the bottom of my heart I deeply thank you for considering supporting me in my transition. Your acts of kindness and compassion mean more to me than the words I have to express, and is something I will forever be grateful for and cherish.

Yours sincerely,

Gil