Hey there, I’m Kris. I’m a trans restaurant server out of Austin, TX and on January 3 on my way to work I was involved in a scooter accident. The scooter hit a gap in the pavement and I fell into the road head first. To protect my head, I covered myself with my arms and landed on my hand. The force of fall pushed my hand into my wrist and shattered my radius, the larger of the bones in the forearm. The impact compacted all of the fragments into the joint where the nerves in the wrist are located. I went to the ER where I was able to receive Xrays and got pain meds and was told I need surgery.

I then went to a surgeon who said I need a plate put in and recovery for this type of break can take around 8-12 weeks and usually 6-9 months before I regain strength to be able to carry trays again at work. My work insurance paid for my ER visit and surgeon visit but won’t pay for outpatient surgery. I had some money saved up for me to be able to move out of Texas because I don’t feel safe here. I used what I had in savings to pay the required surgeon cost to book the surgery and was able to get on a payment plan for the rest. I opted to go to a surgical center verses hospital because hospital costs are 10x more and am set to have surgery on Wednesday, 1/14/26. The surgical center then informed me their estimate for surgery is $8220.30, half of which must be paid on the day of surgery. I already used my savings to pay half of the surgeon’s fee and do not have the required $4101 to get surgery Wednesday.

I am asking for help to pay my medical costs and then some to support me during recovery. My total estimate for the surgeon+surgical center is $10,152 with me needing $4101 by Wednesday and this total not including the anesthesia cost.

The workplace as a trans Texan is already difficult enough as is and combined with how difficult the economy is for the working class it’s been really hard for me to find stable ground. I’ve been at my current employer full time for over a year now but have been applying for second jobs to help make ends meet with no luck. My restaurant offered to let me host instead to still have some income coming in but the pay difference is pretty significant. I won’t be able to serve for a while and have no familial or financial support so nothing to fall back on. I’m actively applying for emergency funds from nonprofits but anything helps and it would be greatly appreciated to be able to get this surgery done on Wednesday so I can get back to serving as soon as possible.