'I was so emotional': Saskatoon transgender man says top surgery lets him embrace true identity
After receiving top surgery to remove his breasts on June 1, Hunter Thompson is on his way to living out his true self.
The two and a half hour surgery included a mastectomy, nipple grafts and liposuction.
“I woke up and I looked at my chest and I immediately started crying. ‘They’re gone, they’re finally gone,’” he said. “I was so emotional.”
While the province covers the surgery itself, it doesn’t cover expenses such as travel, accommodations, food and medication.
Thompson said his nausea medication alone costs more than $100 and trips to Regina to get his drains taken out cost roughly $100 each way.
Zann Foth set up a GoFundMe page for Thompson to help cover his recovery expenses.
When Foth received top surgery seven months ago, someone did the same thing for them, so Foth wanted to pay it forward.
“I made a big batch of soup and I sold it to friends of mine and we were able to get a good $500,” Foth said.
Thompson said the fundraiser helped him to get the support he needed because his parents aren’t “very supportive” and are “negative” about his transition.
Hunter Thompson is recovering from his top surgery on June 1. (Miriam Valdes-Carletti/CTV Saskatoon)
“All the support that people have shown on it, like I’ve cried so many times looking at people donating. I don’t even know why you care, but thank you,” he said.
The page has a goal of $3,000 and has already surpassed $1,300.
Thompson said people are also bringing him meals.
His girlfriend, Jasmine Starling, has been staying with him to help in his recovery.
Starling said since getting top surgery, Thompson has a more positive outlook.
“Before, when I first met him, he was more shy and didn’t like being shirtless or anything tight,” said Starling.
“Now, he’s fully ‘Woo I can be free.’”
For Pride Month throughout June, Thompson wants people to know how important top surgery is for him and other transgender people.
“I looked in the mirror and I would cry every single time because I don’t like my chest and I didn’t like it at all. It felt weird to shower, it felt weird to get dressed,” Thompson said.
He said it “means the world to him” that top surgery is covered in the province because he considers it a mandatory surgery for his health.
Thompson said the next steps in his transition are to have the gender on his birth certificate changed and to legally change his name.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.