Nelly Top Surgery and Transition Fundraiser

Aim

A fundraiser to help Nelly privately transition, after an over 5 year wait for a first appointment with the NHS Gender Identity Service.

For those of you not familiar with me, my name is Nelly Kelly and I am a trans non-binary person. I have been on the waiting list for a first appointment with the NHS Gender Identity Services since 2018. Unfortunately, I'm one of the folks for whom the consequences of the pandemic have combined with the already significant waitlists to mean that over 5 years since referral, I am yet to have been seen for a first appointment.

Given how slowly the waitlist is moving, it is realistic to assume that I can expect to wait at least another year for that first appointment. Multiple appointments are required before I would finally be able to access the gender affirming healthcare that would drastically improve my health and well-being and these appointments can be months and months apart. From that point, the top-surgery that I require has a further years-long waitlist. 

The gender dysphoria that I experience makes it incredibly difficult for me to go outside, stay active and exercise in the way I'd like to. This means that, even discounting the waitlists, it may not currently be possible for me to undergo top-surgery on the NHS. To be eligible for top-surgery on the NHS you must have a BMI of below 30. However, surgeons in the private sector perform this surgery for those with a BMI of 35 or below with no evidence of increased risk.

Turning 30 has felt like a really difficult turning point for me as, when I was referred so many years ago, I never imagined entering my 30s without having been able to medically transition. The fact that I cannot now reliably assume I will have gained access to this healthcare before my 35th birthday is a significant factor in me no longer feeling able to wait on the NHS waitlists.

Over the years I have tried so hard to make this financially possible for myself, without the need to ask for financial support from others. For those of you unfamiliar with trans healthcare fundraisers, they're sadly commonplace in the UK due to the huge waiting times for the NHS Gender Identity Services. A large number of friends have, for a long time, encouraged me to set up a fundraiser, but I had always hoped that I would either make it through the NHS waitlists or be able to find a way to support myself financially through transition. However, a number of life circumstances, particularly over the last year have massively set this hope back, and due to some more recent unforeseen circumstances in my working life, I'm now faced with the reality of moving into working as a freelance artist full-time amid a cost of living crisis. This will not only impact my financial situation but will also mean that the cost of my transition has, in effect, increased due to losing an entitlement to sick leave.

I have avoided this route to transition for so long as I did not want my transition to come at anyone else’s expense and so want to make it really clear that I'm asking for support *only* from people who don't have to financially stretch themselves to make a financial contribution. Likewise, I also will appreciate any and all contributions made, however big or small - it's so expensive to transition privately and I will be so appreciative of every penny (or any kind word or thought, or share of this fundraiser!) that goes towards making this a reality for me.

 Appointments with the private clinic in Edinburgh are £360 per consultation (with the expectation a good few appointments), top-surgery costs on average anywhere between £8,000 and £12,000, there is also the cost of paying for private prescriptions, travel and accommodation for surgery, recovery, and a follow up appointment to consider. All in all, I reckon this is set to cost about £15,000 all in, so I am looking to fundraise up to £12,000 if possible and source the rest of the money myself. In the event I am able to raise the entirety of the funds I require, I can keep costs down, or am able to fund more of my transition on my own than seems feasible just now, then my plan is to donate any surplus funds to the fundraisers of other trans people hoping to transition privately who may have more barriers to doing so than I were to have if my fundraiser is successful - however I will check in with all the folks I know contributed ahead of doing so to ask for their consent to do this.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Asking for support in this way feels incredibly vulnerable, but I am truly incredibly grateful for any and all support that might come from it. Regardless of whether that support is financial and/or sharing this fundraiser, or even just a kind word or thought during this time if neither of those things are possible, it is so very appreciated.

Love and thanks,

Nelly

This project successfully funded on 27th March 2023