Hi, my name is Carina. Some of you will know me as Rina or Caz.

If you know me well, you'll know the last 8 or so years have been very difficult and I've contended with a lot.

I've always wanted to be a mum and have my own children and genuinely thought it would happen. When I met my ex bf in 2016 and we talked about our future plans etc in those first few dates, I honestly thought that I'd finally get my chance. Unfortunately, after failing to get pregnant and discovering a lump in my tummy that would be diagnosed as fibroids I thought that was the only issue we'd have.

Following more tests, I found out that my tubes were blocked and I'd never conceive naturally, only through assisted conception- IVF.

Unfortunately, the stress of the situation contributed to the breakdown of our relationship and we split up in January 2020. In March 2020, as I still very much wanted to be a mum, I decided to continue my journey as a single person.

The pandemic hit and having to have the fibroids removed on two separate occasions in both 2020 and 2022 has caused major delays in my journey, meaning I started IVF much later than I expected.

The first operation was a simple outpatient procedure and recovering was quick. The second operation was open and similar to a C-section. 11 fibroids were removed, I lost a lot of blood, so I stayed a few nights in hospital and recovering in the first few weeks was tough. Understandably, I'm not in a rush to put myself through that again, unless absolutely necessary.

I finally started my first round of ivf in October 2023, but only two eggs were collected and none of those fertilised. This completely devastated me mentally. It wasn't until the end of 2024 that I really felt I was able to mentally put myself through another round as I've felt petrified to go through it all again. At the age of 41, I realise time is not on my side and that this next round of ivf may not work, but I'm hopeful of at least getting to transfer stage this time. I can't move on until I at least try one more time.

A fertility scan in March 2025 has revealed that the remaining fibroids from the previous operation have grown bigger and are still causing me difficulties. Their size and location means that I'm unable to go for traditional egg retrieval and need to have this done trans abdominally. This of course is not routine and has to be done by a specialist IVF clinic. A round of ivf will cost roughly £5000.

Again, I'm doing this as a single person, I also have to factor in costs for donor sperm which is around £2000 and then medication on top of that is around another £2000.

With savings and a credit card I'm able to fund half of this myself. The rest I really need some help with. The fact that I even have to do this pains me. Id not typically ask for help, unless I really really needed it.

I'm hate the idea of asking others for their help and generosity, but I can't do this on my own. So I'm asking if you can donate anything. Even as little as £5 would massively help me out.

I'm honestly grateful for anything you can donate. If you can't, that's okay. If you don't want to, that's also okay. I understand that not everyone will agree with what I'm doing and that's fine too. If you're still here, thank you for even reading this far, I really appreciate it.

Please feel free to share with anyone else who may resonate with this difficult journey or wish to donate. ❤️