Gerard's Top Surgery

Hi!

My name is Gerard Najera and I am a transgender male. I came out in April of 2016 and began HRT on May 29th, 2019. The reason why I decided to start this was because I emailing the best plastic surgeon in Austin and, after some calculations, found it was impossible to cover the expenses by March 2020 with my part-time. Why March 2020 you ask? Well, as a senior in high school, I wanted to be recovered from my surgery in time for AP exams, prom, and, most importantly, graduation. I refuse to let my transition get in the way of my academic success so, if time permits, I would get this surgery during or before spring break. 

As a backstory, I began questioning my identity in seventh grade. And since I had plenty of time due to friends, I fell deep into this pit of self-discovery. The journey is not yet over, but I know the path. In April of 2016, I came out to my friends as a trans man and that's been the case since then.  I decided I would wait until I was 18 to change my name legally and start my testosterone injections because I believed my family couldn't care less about me.

But something wonderful happened. I met my endocrinologist and she prescribed me my medication the same day. I don't know what her and my doctor spoke about, but within two weeks of that meeting, I met with a nurse who taught me how to correctly perform my shots. After years of beating myself down for my appearance, I finally had something that could significantly lessen the toll on my mental health. 

The next obvious step was planning my name change, but I quickly realized my surgery would take too much time and money, so I had to start planning immediately. Currently, I'm working on my name change and emailing the surgeon to plan my consultation. The first email detailed the process and included my first rough estimate of 9,000-10,500 and I strongly believe I can raise the rest of the 3,000-4,500 this fundraiser doesn't. 

Please reach out with any questions and share this! Thank you so much!