Asking for deperately needed help
Hey everyone! My name is RaeRae and I am a 38-year-old non-binary trans masc. I am currently waiting for my top surgery. I found an amazing surgeon, Dr. Cornelio, in Brazil, to perform my mastectomy. She specializes in transmasculine mastectomies and she is so great! I had to push back the date for my surgery because it is taking me longer to raise the funds than I thought. A little backstory, first: My wife and I moved to Uruguay in 2017. We have socialized medicine here and the government pays for gender affirming care. There was a trans law passed here in 2018 because of the history of transphobia, especially under the former Uruguayan dictatorship. This law is part of the government’s current attempt to right past wrongs and give trans people equal rights under the law. They are supposed to give us all access to easy and quick GAC and GAS through the government’s sexual diversity clinic. However, there are only a handful of surgeons who are trained in specific procedures, and the one hospital that does GAS over the past few years hasn’t been blocking off time in the surgical schedule for GAS. There is now an average of only 2 being performed per month. There are over 100 trans folks on the list, and that means it would be a wait of over 4 years for me to be able to receive top surgery through the public healthcare system. I am on the list for a hysterectomy, but I am fine waiting for a few years for that procedure. I cannot wait much longer for top surgery. Three years ago, I was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer and developed a bilateral pleural effusion, which is when the area around your lungs fills with fluid. I survived, but while healing after the surgery, my top dysphoria got really bad. I was constantly dissociating from both the physical pain and the dysphoria. All I could think about was that I survived cancer to potentially spend the rest of my life growing old in a body that is not totally mine. For over a year, I had pretty severe pain around and throughout my chest, and I could not wear anything tight, let alone a sports bra or binder. I was worried no surgeon would be willing to work with me, so I waited a few years in a lot of emotional pain and dealing with medical PTSD. I cannot wait much longer. My dysphoria and depression are really bad, and I am disappointed I had to postpone my surgery for lack of funds. My fundraiser is not doing very well, and I am asking you, my trans sibs, for help. If you find yourself in a place where you are able to donate, it would mean the world to me. I would also love if you could share the GoFundMe outside this subreddit with people who might be able to donate, regardless if you can donate or not. The link is below. (I looked through all of the rules of this subreddit and there is nothing banning posts about fundraisers, so I hope this is okay.) Sending love to everyone!!!