Hello you gorgeous gorgeous charitable queens and kings! A thousand sexy blessings to you for reading and supporting a they/them’s gender-affirming journey to a flat chested and full embodied life. To put it simply, you’re a super star, a Jennifer Coolidge in a world of Voldemorts, and for that, I thank you from the bottom of my queer heart. My name is Terri, I’m a trans non-binary, first-generation immigrant, residing in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia. I’m a low-income earner with limited financial means and in need of financial support to ensure the success of my gender-affirming surgery, aftercare, and recovery. To date, the process of accessing the lifesaving medical care I need has taken well over a year, with countless barriers and setbacks. This has devastated my mental and physical health as well as depleted my finances, with costs surpassing well over fifteen thousand dollars. Unfortunately, I am now unable to afford the aftercare treatments I need for proper recovery and to pay for essentials like rent, bills, and groceries during the two-month recovery period that I am unable to work. Despite these challenges, I remain determined to overcome and dismantle the many discriminatory barriers to adequate and affordable healthcare the trans community face. And I’m doing it all whilst living authentically and always leading with love first and a smile on my face, Heck yes! Thank God positivity is free :) I truly believe that acts of solidarity within community is at the heart of creating a fair and just world. A world where everyone has equal access to the healthcare they need and deserve, regardless of their financial situation or gender identity. Your contribution, no matter the amount, will make a tremendous impact on my journey towards self-realization and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart. *If you would like to read more about my story, please see below ‘Methods of Support’. Methods of Support: 1. Donations – Your generous donations will directly contribute to covering the expenses associated with my gender affirming care and top surgery. This includes surgeon fees, anaesthesia, hospital expenses, insurance, mandatory pre/post-operative psychiatric assessments, specialist appointments, medication/medical supplies, and rent, bills, and groceries during my two-month recovery period which I am unable to work. 2. Share – Share this post with your friends, family, and social media platforms. Sharing alone will increase the reach of my campaign, bring awareness, and contribute to changing the unjust treatment of the transgender community within the Australian medical system. Can I get an Amen! *A little window into my experience seeking healthcare: I know fundraisers are supposed to be written in a positive and hopeful light, avoiding the reality of our pain and hardships. People don’t want to be confronted with discrimination, ableism, racism, sexism, poverty, mental illness, suicide… Sadly we know the list of ‘ism’s’ goes on and on. However, I feel that it is important that I am truthful and transparent about my experience of seeking gender affirming healthcare in Naarm, Australia. An experience that has robbed me of my emotional, mental, and physical health, of friendships, and my ability to work and study. An experience that has depleted me financially, leaving me unable to access the aftercare treatments I need for proper recovery and to pay for essentials like rent, bills, and groceries. An experience that almost cost me my life because seeking the healthcare I desperately needed brought me face to face with people and systems that denied my humanity, my basic rights, and regarded me as a possible sexually deviant predator; a damaging and false narrative of the trans community that saturates our government systems which in turn influences and conditions our broader societal views and ideologies. I’m sharing this small window into my experience in hope that my story will inspire all of us to work together in transforming our government structures, systems, and societal views towards the transgender community for the better. To ensure that no one is forced into poverty, isolation, and ill health in their quest to access the lifesaving/affirming healthcare they need and deserve. And to ensure that no one will ever have to contemplate taking one’s life, of dying in silence, because suicide appears easier than receiving healthcare and seemingly the only accessible relief from unwarranted shame, humiliation, and pain. This was my terrifying reality, and I can honestly say I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for my dearest friends, my chosen family, Grey and Sergio, my GP Peggy Wong, Psych Trudy Clutterbok and Chinese Doctor Longlin Shen. I am so unbelievably honoured and privileged to have such loving and caring people in my life. I do not take for granted that many members of the trans community do not have a Grey and Sergio or medical professionals they can trust. To my trans-family who feel alone, who are alone, I see you, I hear you, I acknowledge your pain, your bravery, and your fight. I love you and you are worthy of better, of equity, of care and the right to self-realization and acceptance. I will never stop advocating for you and our right to healthcare justice and a joyous fulfilling life. I will never stop; I will never give up, we are eternal <3 If you or someone you know is struggling in their fight to self-determination and/or accessing gender affirming care, please reach out to some of the following resources: Lifeline Australia: 13 11 14 (Available 24/7) The Rainbow Door: 1800 729 367 (10am-5pm, everyday) Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 (Available 24/7) 13YARN: 13 92 76 (Available 24/7) For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are going through a tough time and feel like having a yarn. Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 (Free 24/7) phone and online counselling service for young people aged 5 to 25. QLife: 1800 184 527 (3pm–midnight AEST) Switchboard (Victoria): 1800 184 527 (3pm–midnight, 7 days a week) I acknowledge the traditional custodians, the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung and Boon Wurrung Peoples on whose lands I live, receive this medical care and healing. Sovereignty was never ceded, and I pay my respect to past, present, and future Aboriginal Elders and Community, and to their long and rich history of healing on this sacred land. Always Was, Always Will Be, Aboriginal Land.
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