top surgery fundraising + tracking

INTRO

my main goal for 2024 is to get top surgery! this would be completely lifechanging for me, but impossible at the moment without external help. if you’d like to read more about me and my story, i’ll leave that below. but, this is why i’m currently trying to fundraise through the following methods…

HOW TO SUPPORT ME

the top surgery collection on my bigcartel: my new comic OH…HUH! along with stickers and an exclusive print.

itch.io: digital copies of my comic OH…HUH! as a lower cost way to read the comic and support me (particularly for international readers)

i’ll also generally be saving money between now + my surgery to support myself, so support on my patreon or one-time tips on ko-fi are welcome, if you feel so inclined :)

THE NUMBER BREAKDOWN

right now, my current goal is $7,800. this is to help with the cost of surgery, as well as medications/other associated costs post-surgery, as well as loss of work for the 6 weeks after surgery. this number doesn’t include actual manufacturing costs, but i will be reflecting the amount raised to include that. my consultation is on april 8th, and after that, the goal will change in one of two ways…

1. my insurance will cover the procedure (yay!) and my fundraising goal will stay the same. the breakdown of that $7,800 is about $6,000 for the surgery and its associated costs (half and half), and the remainder set aside for taxes.
   
   
2. my insurance will not cover the procedure (boooo) and my goal will raise kind of dramatically. i’ve been quoted that the cost of surgery itself is just under $9,000…so the goal would be closer to like, $13,000.
   

i’m getting alllll my ducks in a row so that hopefully, option #1 will be the way it plays out! but, considering the state of the united states’ healthcare system…i don’t want to completely get my hopes up. i’m still optimistic though, which is why i want to start raising these funds sooner than later. i’ll make a gofundme if it seems necessary (particularly if my insurance doesn’t cover it), but for now, i want to do what i can to raise these funds by providing my art to you all.

MORE ABOUT ME

my chest has given me incredible discomfort for most of my life at this point (since fourth grade, or around 9 years old). i find it incredibly hard to exercise or just generally exist in a public way due to the dysphoria my chest has caused me. i’m very lucky to work in a trans-friendly workplace, but that doesn’t change how customers view me based on my body. this has only been exasperated as i get further in my transition: at this point, after three years of social transitioning and over a year on testosterone, the disconnect between the rest of my body and my chest is getting stronger and stronger. by getting top surgery, it will be (quite literally) removing a weight from my chest; the ability to exist without being hyperaware of this zone of my body will give me a freedom and inner peace that i genuinely cannot imagine at this point.

i believe i have found a good fit for the practice and surgeon who would be performing my surgery, but, to do so, i humbly ask for your help to raise the funds to afford it. as described above, it looks like my insurance will cover part of it, but i’ll still have to pay a certain chunk of it myself. along with this, there’s the cost of assorted recovery items, and the money needed to support myself during the recovery period (i work at a paint bar, as well as my illustration stuff, and i won't be able to do either for up to six weeks). if i end up with extra beyond that, i’ll be putting it toward other trans people’s transition funds, as well as donating to mainetrans.net, an organization focused on supporting trans people in maine (which includes me!)