Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story.

Firstly, let me introduce us, Hi we are Jamie & Hannah.

We have been trying to have our own family for over 3.5 years. After lots of testing we have found that Jamie is unable to naturally have children and at the time my weight was a big factor.

Through all the tests I was told everything looks as it should be, however there are signs of PCOS, and my weight will contribute to not conceiving. The PCOS has been looked into many times, however since losing weight it seems this is no longer an issue.

After struggling with weight gain my whole life, more so in my teenage years, trying every diet going and seeking medical support, I was finally put in touch with a Bariatric Clinic who supported my weight loss journey, more so knowing I was doing this so we could have our own family.

I also have Type 1 diabetes which has been a rollercoaster in itself many years, since being diagnosed at the age of 3. This was nothing to do with weight, I was actually a very slim child growing up; however, I have been working hard, with the support of Jamie, family and my diabetes team to really get this under great control to ensure there are far less risks in pregnancy.

I was notoriously a teen with high blood sugars and not looking after myself, not really accepting the risks this could cause.But since growing up, looking after myself and really understanding the risks this coudl cause to not only myself but to my unborn child. I have ensured that my diabetes is in much better control and over the last 5 years I have been working very hard to get this under much tighter control.

Thanks to my Diabetic Consultant, In December 2024 I had Bariatric Sleeve Surgery, with the amazing support of Jamie and family. My consultant made a referral to them after me having a big melt down at an appointment begging for some help with my weight.

I remember using the analogy that If I was very underweight, medical professionals would do everything to support me, so why is it that being overweight you are left to get on with it yourself. I explained that I had tried every diet you can think of, but I needed medical support, that I was not getting from anyone. I was a mess by this point.

However, to date I have lost 9.5 stone! People think this surgery is an easy way out, when it really is not.

I absolutely hate milk; It was mandatory I had to sustain 2 weeks of only being able to have milk as a pre diet before the surgery. Then I had to retrain my new stomach to accept foods back in, slowly introducing different types of food in fear of my stomach rejecting it and throwing up. Having constant stomach issues, being sick and fear of foods getting stuck. All while ensuring I am getting all the supplements needed and trying best to have all the nutrients my body needs to be fertility ready. This is all due to how determined I am to have our own family as well as living a healthier lifestyle.

It has been an incredibly hard time for both of us, trying every month and having consistent negative results. However, we did have 1 positive test early into the journey that only lasted 3 days where we were faced with the reality that the pregnancy did not stick.

We are consistently doing everything possible, including cutting out all processed foods, caffeine and working hard to maintain a healthy diet with whole foods, taking pre-pregnancy supplements and trying to stay positive. (how you can stay positive with negative test results each month is a mine field in itself) Its emotional turmoil when friends and family are having their own families and it still not happening for us. Seeing little ones and just bursting in to tears feeling like it’s never going to happen. So many friends and family have expressed how great we would be as parents and just hope this will happen for us one day. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Due to fertility criteria on the NHS, you need to have a BMI of 29.9 or lower before they will even consider supporting you.

Even with all this hard work and determination both of us have improved our lifestyles, however my weight has not moved much for the last 6 months, which everyone knows can happen but being so desperate to have a family its mentally struggling for us, especially so far down the line now. Currently sitting at a BMI of 32 and been this way for a long time, we know time is ticking.

As we know women have a time frame in terms of having a family. Being in our 30's, we are really prioritising this journey now more than ever. Due to such a long time of not having a family, we have decided the best way forward is to look into private fertility treatment for this to be more successful.

We have even swallowed the fact that we just can't afford luxuries like holidays, days out or our dream wedding. Sacrifices that we are more than happy to make to ensure we can do everything we can to put the money into fertility treatment.

Jamie has taken on more hours at work, and I am looking into a second job (both work full time). I have a vinted page to try and sell as much clothing that is no longer needed to try and scrape together as much as we can. However, this has not been very successful.

Knowing people's financial struggles, I have tried my best to put clothing on vinted for £1 or £2 to help others on a weight loss journey but things are not selling.

Unfortunately, with the struggles of daily living that we already have, with the cost of living, food prices and constant bill rises, it has been a very difficult task trying to get the money together for this journey.

We both come from big families with lots of children, work with children and want nothing more than to be parents ourselves

It’s been an incredibly emotional 3 plus years with lots of ups and downs. We really feel there is a tiny piece of us missing without a child of our own to complete our family.

We have thought about this long and hard and thought why not give this a go.

This page is asking for anyone who would like to help to make such a huge dream come true for us to have private fertility.

This will be to help fund all costs for IUI treatment including all tests, the procedure itself and any medication needed for the process.

The goal price above is for 1 attempt, we are hoping this is all we will need.

It’s felt that this is our only option now, for medical intervention, it's just a huge cost that we could do with a little support with.

We really are not a couple to ever ask for money, and know everyone has their own problems, which is why this page is only asking for anyone who can support or wants to, even just £1 would be a huge help and we both could not thank you enough for any contributions we receive to help us. Thank you so much again.

Please do share our link on as much as you can please.

We have also created an Instagram page to keep you all updated every step of the way to show you where your life changing contributions are going. Please follow along on our journey.

Profile: hannahjamie2022.

https://www.instagram.com/hannahjamie2022?igsh=ZHBqOTBub2U3aDAy