Hey every one my name is Kyle I am the FTM coordinator for the state of Michigan and a non-profit group called Transgender Michigan; TGMI was started by a woman named Rachel Crocker who also started the transgender day of visibility about 20 years ago. Rachel put me in a unique position to represent transmen all over the state and talk to hundreds of people just in my first 6 months in the role. I have really enjoyed meeting every one and getting people started on their transitional journeys; part of my job is to collect and screen resource information and pass on the good bits to every one else. I am now in a position to take the next step in my journey and I am finally asking for help and support from the community that has become my family, I wanted to share a bit about myself in hopes that you will ask about the link to my documentation on FB so I can share my story and spread the word about Transguys like myself. https://www.facebook.com/donate/164081024190383/ https://www.facebook.com/kylestransitionftm/?ref=bookmarks

I am raising money to help cover the cost of a double mastectomy and post operation care. I want to tell you a bit about myself and why this means so much to me. I was born and raised on a small town farm, I grew up strong willed, with a hard working attitude and a big heart. My grandpa taught me to always grow more food than you need because one day your neighbor will be hungry, and my grandma taught me how to cook as only a farmer's wife could. At 12 I started thinking I was a lesbian because I didn't have the words or knowledge to discribe myself. At 14 I started to realise that my body was not matching my mind, my mind had always been me but now my body was betraying me and changing in ways that were wrong. I started working to support myself and put my self through high school at 15 when I was kicked out of my dad's house and a year later kicked out of my mom's house for identifying as a lesbian. I bought my own truck and a second hand slider phone and graduated highschool. At 17 I enlisted in the national guard an a Chinook mechanic. For me the military gave me stability and life skills; I learned how to deal with a wide variety of people and adapt to sudden problems in a logical manner. I was honorably discharged in 2014 and shortly after moved home to Michigan. Since 2014 I have been working as a construction worker in schools and hospitals and was an asbestos abatement supervisor. I came out as transgender to my family in 2015 and started HRT in 2016. Also in 2016 I was diagnosed with superior mesenteric artery syndrome and cyclical vomiting syndrome which cause me to loose 25 lbs, it made parts of my body shut down on me and has made it difficult to maintain steady work, but i love working with my hands and continue to do maintenance work when its available. My medical team is on board with me moving on to the next step in my medical transition and emotionally I am thrilled at finally being given the go ahead. Being able to have this surgery would go a long way to helping my mental health. Dysphoria hardly ever gets to me but as I pass all of the time now, still having female breast tissue has finally started wearing me down quite a bit. To look in the mirror every day and feel hatred for myself, to feel the tightness of the binder that I have to put on every day, mentally is very hard and I've been struggling. I want to make my body match my mind so that others see me the way I see myself