(Uncensored version of post here)

Hey everyone! It’s your local genderqueer updating on my transition!

Now that you’ve seen my tiddies, lemme mention- I’m trying to raise $4,000 and all of the money I receive will go directly into paying for my phalloplasty medical expenses.  My insurance deductible is over $14,000 and even though I’m working part-time I can’t afford to pay that full amount, so anything you can donate really helps!

Thank you everyone 💕

Hi everyone! My name is Lee, and I use they/them pronouns. I’m Black and Austistic, and I’m a pre-med college student. 

A brief synopsis of my non-binary transition: I started T and got top surgery at 18, then I got a hysterectomy at 19. Transitioning has improved my life so much- I wake up every day without feeling a weight on my chest- literally!

But now I need help in taking the next (and final) step in my transition. I have a phalloplasty surgery date scheduled for next year, May 2021. I’m a full-time college student with a part-time job and I’m going to keep working and keep saving money, but my insurance deductible is over $14,000 which is more than I’ll be able to save.

I’m not asking for people to donate the full amount, but I need to be able to continue getting electrolysis (which is medically necessary to prepare the donor site) without using all the funds I need to keep saved for the actual surgery.

I’m trying to raise $4,000 and all of the money I receive will go directly into paying for my phalloplasty medical expenses. You can donate to my GoFundMe or PayPal me, and my Venmo and Cashapp is @ LeeBrown99. I really appreciate anything you can spare!

Thank you for reading, and I hope everyone has a wonderful TDOV!

🏳️‍🌈 remember 🇷🇺

while americans and europeans celebrate Pride, remember us. remember that pride is illegal in Russia. remember that we are silenced and shamed by our government and by the society we exist in, that our human rights get violated every day. remember that russians carrying rainbow flags will be beaten and thrown in jail this summer. celebrate and protest, but remember that we can’t.

Instead of buying overpriced corporate queer merch this Pride, consider a donation to the Russian LGBT Network: https://lgbtnet.org/en (most of the site is in Russian, but this link specifically will let you view it in English.)

They’re working to help our Russian brothers and sisters escape to countries where they’re safe, and they could really use our help. You can also read there on some of what’s going on in Russia with regard to queer rights.

You may also consider Rainbow Railroad: https://www.rainbowrailroad.com

They have the same goal and work in countries worldwide where queer folk are in danger due to anti-LGBTQ laws.

Hi everyone! I’m trying to raise money to pay for my phalloplasty.

It’s my 20th birthday today, and if you want to get me something I’m trying to save for lower surgery. I have my surgery date scheduled for next year, but it’s going to cost me approximately $15,800 after insurance.

[Image description: Lee is smiling at the camera in front of the trans pride flag. They’re shirtless and have light brown skin and top surgery scars. /End ID]

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I didn’t always think that I would make it to 20 years old- after I went through puberty I fell into a deep depression that only got worse as the years went on.

I started working part-time to save money for my transition, so I was a full-time high school student while also working 12 hours a week for minimum wage and attending intensive outpatient therapy 9 hours a week and it was a lot for an Autistic and mentally ill teenager like me.

When I was hospitalized during my senior year of high school, one of the doctors from the intensive outpatient program I was part came to visit me in the psychiatric ward.

That doctor told me “You may feel that life is not worth living right now and things will never get better, but I’ve treated many transgender patients and I can promise you that things start getting better once you have transitioned. I want you to promise to do your best to hang on until you’ve been able to start your transition. Then we can re-evaluate the situation”.

She was right; with the right meds and access to medical transition, my depression lifted when I turned 18. I started testosterone in 2017, I got top surgery in 2017, and I had a hysterectomy in 2018. As I continued to transition, my mental health correspondingly improved and I was able to start college after taking a mental health gap year.

Now I’m a rising sophomore at a liberal arts college and I’m working at my college for minimum wage both during the academic year and over the summer. My mental health is good right now, but I need to finish my transition to ensure that the gender dysphoria doesn’t start to increase and trigger a downward spiral in my mental health.

Phalloplasty requires months of expensive electrolysis hair removal pre-op which I need to start as soon as possible, and so far I’ve already had to pay $500 for my consultation with the surgeons alone. And of course there are other medical expenses I have to pay for that prevent me from saving as much money as I’d like to.

I’m doing all I can to save money, but after paying for regular blood work for my testosterone ($200 per lab done multiple times per year plus $60 copay every endocrinologist appointment), my top surgery ($3,000 out of pocket after insurance) and my hysterectomy (also $3,000 out of pocket after insurance) I don’t have enough saved to pay for my phalloplasty, which will cost much more than any of the transition steps I’ve taken so far. 

But I’ve been working part time since age 16 to save money for my transition- I worked as a page at the local library in high school, and now I’m a rising sophomore attending Sarah Lawrence College and I’m working the maximum number of hours a week that students are allowed to work on campus. Through my hard work, I currently have a total of $10,000 saved. I’m going to keep working and keep saving money so I’m not asking for people to donate the full amount, but I need to be able to start the electrolysis (which is medically necessary to prepare the donor site) without using all the funds I need to keep saved for the actual surgery. 

I’m trying to raise $4,000 and all of the money I receive will go directly into paying for my phalloplasty medical expenses. You can donate to my GoFundMe or PayPal me- I’d be grateful for either. Thank you for reading, and thank you for the birthday donation if you’re able to make one- any amount will help!

https://www.gofundme.com/LeeLowerSurgery

https://www.paypal.me/questingqueer

Lee says:

Hi everyone! It's my 20th birthday today and I’ve started a GoFundMe for my lower surgery.

I have my phalloplasty surgery date scheduled for next year, but I need a little bit of assistance to bridge the gap between what I've saved and what it'll cost.

I’ve made some resources on lower surgery for anyone who is considering getting surgery themselves:

I really need to take this final step in my transition, and hopefully I will be able to do so. Thank you to everyone who has supported me! 😘🥰

https://www.gofundme.com/LeeLowerSurgery

a message from my friend Rowan

“I’m a young trans masc person who just had radical abdominal hysterectomy, just bought medication (surprise! not covered by insurance) and I’m gonna have top surgery next month. Because of some new horrible discriminatory practices from my insurance, I’m getting pretty unstable funding-wise, particularly considering I have to take two months off work. Though my rent is covered, we’re many people under one roof, all on food stamps, and I’m unable to do anything for the next few months to help. My birthday’s also in a week, to make things more exciting. I’m gonna be okay, but any additional support would be extremely helpful and anxiety-reducing, especially until the ACLU is done suing my fucking insurance, which takes time. Normally I would offer art commissions during a time like this, but as my body is literally trying to reconnect itself and get used to this weird new lack of hormones, I really can’t do much of anything. My PayPal is : [email protected]. thank you so much for any help!!”

please consider donating to Rowan to help them get through these surgeries, get hormones and other meds, and otherwise survive. thank you!