Hi, I’m Stew.

On the 27th of July this year, I’m taking on the biggest challenge of my life, Ironman triathlon in Leeds. Expected to be one of their most difficult triathlons too. Less than 0.01% of the population will ever complete an Ironman. This is a 2.4 mile swim outdoors, then straight into a 112 mile, hilly bike ride round the Yorkshire dales, and finishing with running marathon straight after the bike. The event is time limited and so you can't go slow/take your time like you can in events such as the London Marathon.

I will put my event number in here when I get it, so you can track me.

All my training is also recorded in my Strava if you want to follow along.

I am fundraising for this to raise awareness of endometriosis and raise money for life-changing surgery for my partner, Lucy which is going to cost around £15,000.

Endometriosis has taken over Lucy’s life. She’s a nurse and used to love her job, but over the past few years her health has got worse. She had changed jobs to an easier one and to go part-time to try and cope, and now she’s off work completely on long-term sick. The symptoms have become too much to manage.

She lives with constant, daily pain. The endometriosis disease has spread to several of her organs, including her bladder, bowels, and pelvic ligaments. On top of that, she suffers from near-daily migraines, which are made worse by the hormone fluctuations and fatigue that endometriosis causes. She is under specialist neurological care for these but they are resistant to treatment, likely made worse by endometriosis being present.

After more than ten years of being told her symptoms were nothing, collapsing from pain, and ending up in A&E, Lucy finally got a diagnosis in January after waiting 18months for that diagnostic surgery. The NHS won't diagnose AND treat in the same surgery and so she needs a 2nd surgery.

We've also been through 7 years of unsuccessful IVF, with multiple miscarriages and failed embryo transfers. Doctors now believe the endometriosis is likely the reason it hasn’t worked and we only have a few embryos left. We don't want to waste them.

Her most recent miscarriage in December led to complications, and since then her symptoms and overall health have got even worse.

The NHS waiting list for endometriosis surgery is currently over two years. Lucy doesn’t have that time in her. The longer it’s left, the more damage this disease will do. Her physical and mental health are suffering.

We’ve looked into private excision surgery, which is the gold standard treatment for endometriosis. The total cost for the surgery is around £15,000. After everything we've already spent on IVF, we’ve reached the point where we we're now asking you for help. This fundraiser is to see if we can get help with a portion of that huge cost.

Training for this Ironman has been incredibly tough, much more than I ever imagined, but it’s given me a purpose and a way to try and make a difference. Lucy has supported me every step of the way, in spite of her own struggles.

If you’re able to donate anything at all, it would mean the world to us. Every contribution gets us closer to giving Lucy her life back. And if you can’t donate, please consider sharing our story on your socials and to your friends.

Awareness is powerful, and it all helps.

Also, we don't have any goal in mind with regards to an amount, the target is a rolling target set by GoFundMe, not us. We just planned to do this until the Ironman triathlon has been completed, and we're eternally grateful for every pound donated and every share of our story.

Thank you for reading,

Stew and Lucy