Zann's Top Surgery Expenses

Hey everyone! My name is Zann and whether you know me or not, thanks for visiting this page. I’m raising money to cover the cost of gender-affirming top surgery and associated needs. This is something I’ve been working toward for several years and can finally pursue.

To get started, let me tell you a little about myself and my journey.

I am a 35-year-old trans man, as well as, a self-described theater technician, tabletop nerd, creative mind, and glorious weirdo. I live in Toledo, Ohio with my wife, two ridiculous cats, and a sweet dog. I’ve taught technical theater at Toledo School for the Arts for the past 10 years, and I spend much of my free time playing TTPRGs and starting projects I rarely end up finishing.

In 2017, I came to the realization that my gender identity was much more complex than I thought and came out as non-binary. I changed my pronouns first. They/them felt like a breath of fresh air. Not long after that, I started going by Zann. The name felt like I’d finally found a shirt that fit me. As I learned more about myself and found comfort in my identity, I became increasingly more uncomfortable in my body. I’ve battled with varying degrees of gender dysphoria for most of my life but once I pinpointed the source, it was clear what I wanted. I’ve dreamed of top surgery for years.

As the possibility of surgery has become more real, I’ve learned even more about myself. In late 2022. I realized that the journey of self-understanding I thought concluded was far from complete. I now know I am a trans man, and I changed pronouns again, now he/they. This realization felt like the shirt that finally fit all those years ago had suddenly been tailor-made just for me.

Truly I never thought that gender-affirming top surgery would be an option for me. In part, this is because I never thought I’d be able to afford and arrange the surgery. The other part is that I have, and still struggle with, an overwhelming needle phobia. Thankfully I’ve undergone intense therapy over the past two years to get to a better place concerning my fear and feel confident in my ability to face it.

As for the former, this is where I’m hoping you can help. I found a surgeon that I’m very excited to work with and a care plan I’m confident in. The wonderful and supportive people I’ve been lucky enough to surround myself with have been exuberant in their insistence that I should ask for monetary help, as hard as it may be.

I am hoping to raise $10,000 to cover the cost of surgery, travel, and recovery needs. The bulk of this will cover the surgery itself. Some will help cover travel. I will be undergoing this procedure in Cleveland and will need to travel there a few times for follow-up appointments afterward. There will also be things that I need to recover and help I might need to get things done during that time. This amount will cover all of those needs.

I’ve never been great at asking for help but doing so will help me continue my journey of becoming my best self. If you’ve read this far I hope that you’ll consider helping me reach my goal. If you can donate I will be forever grateful. And if you’re not able to, please consider sharing this page and getting this out into the world.

It is my hope to share a good portion of this process with you via updates. While some of the details and information will be for only myself and those closest to me, I’d like to take you along for some parts of this literally life-changing journey.

Thank you again for all your support, it means the world to me!