Hello! I’m Ellen, a queer, gender non-conforming creative from Newcastle and I’m reaching out to ask you to help me fund my gender-affirming surgery. I started feeling dysphoria at 12 years old when people started asking me if I was a boy or a girl, at first I felt embarrassed but the older I became, embarrassment turned into excitement. I loved how they didn’t know and suddenly feeling different didn’t feel so bad. Fast forward 15 years, my gender dysphoria became more apparent and has intensified to such an extent, it occupies my thoughts through every waking moment. It constantly gets in the way of my personal life, day job and my creative practice leaving me physically and mentally exhausted. I realised that taking up to an hour to get dressed every morning is not a normal time for such a simple task but that’s the reality when you’re trying to cover up a body you don’t feel like yourself in. Every year I have dreaded the heat in summer and patiently wait for the colder seasons so I can finally wear a binder and lots of layers to bury myself in. I have never identified with my chest and it has been a burden since starting puberty. It is already common knowledge that with the state of the NHS, the waiting times for any procedure are long, I could be waiting up to 4 years until I would eventually get seen, even an initial assessment, which is why self-funding is now my only option. When I’m asking you for your donations, please know that this is a last resort for me and I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t a necessity. I’m not just asking you to help fund my surgery, but mainly the confidence to just be myself and love and live to the fullest extent. My goal is to finally feel like myself and rediscover my confidence through gender-affirming surgery. I need to raise £7000 to cover my consultations, mammoplasty treatment and aftercare. If you’re not in a position to donate, please do consider helping me spread the word within your communities and sharing with those who might be able to help. Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you for your love and support!
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