Hi, my name is Aly and I am fundraising for my partner, Keito, a disabled trans-man who is struggling to save for top surgery and other important health treatments due to overwhelming medical expenses and poor health. Most of his health needs are not covered by Medicare, including some medications, specialists and therapies to manage multiple chronic health issues, as well as often debilitating chronic pain. Keito is also consulting with a maxillofacial surgeon soon for jaw surgery to treat his sleep apnea and dental crowding, which are currently causing almost constant abrasion and ulceration to the mouth and severe sleep deprivation due to his airway collapsing in his sleep. His other health issues unfortunately mean that he is not a candidate for less invasive treatments. For a few years, Keito struggled to find a suitable surgeon close to home and after many hours of research and consultations with doctors, it looked like we would have to go to all the way to California. Keito was crushed when we found out what it would cost, being far more expensive than any of the cost estimates we looked at. Thankfully, I recently found a newer local surgeon we had not previously come across, meaning our fundraising goal is once again within reach. Gender dysphoria has caused Keito huge levels of distress since childhood, especially post-puberty and means he needs to wear a binder and extra layers of clothing just to feel okay in public, or when looking in the mirror. Not being able to afford treatments and therapies for his overall health also impacts his ability to be a part of his community and do activities he loves such as art and craft, swimming, caring for rescue animals, working in animation and design and performing as his drag king persona “Cherry Packer”. Proceeds from this fundraiser will cover Keito for upcoming top surgery and recovery expenses and any excess will be put towards his other medical costs in a separate account. Receiving appropriate medical care and top surgery would completely change Keito’s life and improve his mental and physical wellbeing immensely, as well as enabling him to legally change his gender to male. Updates: As of 23/10/2024 we have $3000 raised via donations and sales of handcrafted accessories, repairs, garments, costumes and art by Keito. We are planning more times to sell handicrafts and Keito is still open to commissions and performances The Kings of Joy are helping to organise an upcoming workshop where Keito will share some of his unique skills. A huge thank you to the Kings of Joy and our friends and family for organising help with post-op care! Expenses Upcoming surgery-related expenses involve respiratory assessment and treatment for safety during surgery due to sleep apnea, asthma and oxygen saturation dropping during sleep will cost approx $500 - $900 between now and the surgery, aside from the cost of the actual surgery. This includes: Fitting and trial to see if there is a suitable CPAP machine to use during surgery and until his symptoms improve (about $300). Keito will also be seeing a specialist for asthma because it made him go blue several times during his last surgery and still causes his oxygen saturation to drop during his sleep most nights, so he definitely needs a better treatment regimen (I don’t know the gap fee for this yet but it will likely be between $70 and $200). Continuing immunotherapy for his severe dust allergy helps with his respiratory symptoms with the next round payment coming in the next few weeks and is roughly $400. Around $200 for a legal change of name and approximately $130 for legal change of gender. The Big Surgery! We are working towards: payment of $12000 surgeon fee plus $2800 to $3600 anaesthetic fee and $500 hospital excess. The rebate including Medicare and health insurance will be between $1300 and $2000, making the overall cost almost $2000 less than the original estimate we received, which we are super happy about!
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