Hello, everyone. Elizabeth is in surgery this morning. She is staying in the hospital overnight, and we expect her home by Wednesday afternoon.
As many of you know, Elizabeth has been pursuing FFS (Facial Feminization Surgery) for close to five years now. In that time she has survived a violent sexual assault, an unexpected job loss, the loss of her health insurance, the loss of her family's support and all contact with them, and the continued onslaught of anti-trans legislation. Despite the difficulty of her situation, she has persevered, rarely asking for help unless it was absolutely necessary.
That is why we are asking on her behalf now. After waiting so long for this surgery, and working so hard to get it, all we want from her now is to rest. So we are calling on her friends and loved ones in this time of absolute need.
Elizabeth's facial feminization surgery was originally scheduled for the fall of 2023. When she was unfairly terminated from her job ahead of that surgery, she lost her surgery date along with it. After three years in Los Angeles, and countless conversations with doctors and insurance companies, she was finally able to reschedule for October 6th of this year.
Less than two weeks ago, her surgeon's office called to tell her that October 6th was no longer available. Her only option was to move to September 15th. If she could not take the new date, the next one available was May of next year. Given our current administration's goal of eliminating any remaining trans rights and protections by 2027, there is no guarantee she would be able to have the surgery at all if she waited that long.
Many of you know the difficulties that Elizabeth — and trans people like her — have faced since Donald Trump took office. Hiring discrimination is chief among them, and despite her qualifications, and applying to more than 150 jobs, she has still been unable to secure a corporate position in her field. Consequently, she has resorted to survival sex work to keep a roof over her head. That is the work that has been keeping her alive.
To make matters worse, Elizabeth's identity was stolen in late August, and the savings she had set aside for her recovery were drained from her account. Her bank launched a formal investigation, but was unable to refund several of the largest transactions made by the identity thieves. So she set the entire month of September aside to earn her recovery fund herself, and for the weeks she had, she worked tirelessly to rebuild what was lost. When her surgery date was moved up, she lost three weeks of earning potential, leaving her in an incredibly precarious position.
Sex work is how Elizabeth pays her rent. That work needs her face, her voice, and her being able to show up, and facial surgery takes all three away from her for weeks. She will not be earning less while she heals. She will be earning nothing.
We are trying to raise $5,000. That covers her rent, her utilities and bills, her monthly payments, and the final round of electrolysis her surgeon wants done as soon as she has healed enough for it.
That is the entire ask. Enough to keep her housed, and to let her heal without the weight of her own survival sitting on her shoulders while she does so.
If you can give anything at all, it goes straight to her. If you can't, and we know many can't right now, please share this instead. It genuinely helps as much, and in a lot of ways it helps more.
We will post updates on her social media while she recovers, so you will know how she is doing and where the fundraiser stands. We will also be sharing your messages of love and support with her, so please feel free to message her on instagram, where she has given us access to her account.
Thank you for reading, and thank you for loving her like we do.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth's friends and loved ones 💙
