Help freeze Belle’s eggs & save fertility

UPDATE 2: It’s now been a few weeks after first surgery & feeling pretty well recovered!

Egg retrieval date is before my second surgery which is the bowel surgery.

UPDATE 1: New date of surgery is now 18 January 2024. Due to doctors strikes here in London my date has been moved several times - 

Hello,

If you’re reading this, it’s because I love & trust you - OR someone I love & trust has sent this to you - OR you might be a perfect stranger.

This is definitely the most vulnerable thing I’ve ever publicly written but after a lot of back & forth; here I am.

From the age of 14, I have suffered with what I thought was excruciating period pain. After years of doctors’ appointments I was finally diagnosed with Endometriosis; stage ‘severe’.

The past two years have been especially bad leading to many hospital visits, MRI scans, cyst ruptures etc. They have discovered a very swollen fallopian tube & an extreme amount of endo tissue.

I’m going into surgery for the removal of my fallopian tubes & endo tissue - great news for my condition & ongoing pain. However…

My surgeon has strongly suggested to freeze my eggs as I won’t have any other chance to potentially conceive in the future.

Unfortunately I will also have to undergo a bigger bowel surgery later in 2024 as they’ve found a lot of tissue in my bowels as well. Furthermore, I’m going to be put on a 6 month treatment cycle that induces menopause. (Some might call this premature, I’m gonna go with trend setting ).

The egg freezing can only happen before the bowel surgery & induced menopause injections.

The process of freezing eggs is a very expensive one. On average an egg freezing procedure including checks, tests, storage & maintaining can total around £10 000.

I thought I had plenty of time to save the funds for the required eggs retrieval & freezing procedure. Due to the severity of my situation everything is happening a lot sooner and now I find myself in a situation where I’m unsure if I have the time and means to save the required amount this year.

I struggle asking for help and this page is in no way something I want to have to do,

but please don’t feel any obligation or pressure into contributing!

As part of the fundraising and to show my gratitude to you all I plan on throwing a big party after recovery to celebrate the possibility of a few mini-Belle’s running around.

I also plan to do the Three Peaks Challenge (which involves climbing the highest mountains in Wales, Scotland & England consecutively) as soon as I’ve recovered. I’ll be putting my legs and on-camera skills to the test by vlogging the whole thing and may even live stream

Life has thrown a few obstacles my way over the past few years but I’m not going to let it get me down. I really feel this would be a huge milestone & achievement for me.

I’m happy to chat privately & give more information and/or updates to anyone who wants!

If you’ve read this far, thank you so much for hearing me out. Every little bit helps and I’m grateful for you all with or without contributions!

All the love,

Belle

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What is Endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a long-term chronic illness whereby tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other areas, such as the ovaries, fallopian tubes, bowel and other organs of the body. Contrary to what most people believe, the endometrium can also be found in organs not contiguous with the peritoneal cavity; these include the pericardium, lung, brain, and skin. Most women that suffer with this condition will have multiple surgeries throughout their lifetime as it’s something that can grow back.