Hey, I’m Iona and I’m a self employed jeweller/silversmith. I’m 30 years old and been living with chronic pain for 6 years now. My life has been turned upside down by a late diagnosis and I am now seeking help to raise funds to help cover urgent medical costs.

After years of debilitating pain and no clear answers, being passed from doctor to doctor without clarity, I finally received a diagnosis about 2 years ago - stage 4 endometriosis. I had a very large 10cm endometrioma cyst on my ovary and the disease had spread throughout my body - from my lower abdomen to my diaphragm. My bowels and uterus were stuck together, and my bladder was badly affected. The level of pain and repeated nights in hospital still haunts me.

To safely remove the endometriosis, I underwent two major operations a few months apart around this time last year, spending another week in hospital. My recovery has been long and I do not have the quality of life I had hoped for even after the operation. It’s taken me a whole year to regain some independence. These past couple of months after a medication change I feel more able, I can stand up for longer periods of time and I can begin to exercise again and try and gather my life again. I do however still live with fatigue, pain and difficulty in my everyday life.

After some recent tests, I have been told by the doctors my AMH levels (a measure of egg reserve) has dropped critically low because of my operations. My AMH was before my operation was 11.9. For comparison, the average for a 30-year-old is around 17).

Now, it has dropped to 2.1 and the doctors have told me that I urgently need to freeze my eggs if I want a chance of having a family in the future. To do this I need to freeze my eggs in around 6 months. It feels frightening, but the little eggs I do have left are good quality, so it’s not over.

Because my egg count is so low, I’ve been warned I will likely need three rounds of egg freezing, rather than one round for a usual person. It costs around £7000 per time, which makes this around £21,000 for me and I need to do this within the next few months. Me and my family don’t have this kind of money, and sadly there are no charities or finical help out there for situations like these (that I can see anyway).

I am building myself back up after nearly two years of being unable to walk, through physio therapy, acupuncture, and pain management classes. I have fallen behind on my business and I am catching up slowly, rekindling friendships, trying to feel like myself again, and recovering from the trauma. This whole thing has been a lot heavier than I could have imagined.

Freezing my eggs is my only chance to preserve my fertility and give myself the option of a family in the future. Endometriosis has taken so much from my life, and I don’t want it to take this from me too.

I’m reaching out for support to help cover the urgent costs of egg freezing. I’ve been backed into a corner and need to act quickly. I hate having to share something so personal and asking for help feels horrible, but I have no other option. Every donation, no matter the size, brings me one step closer to preserving the possibility of a future family and reclaiming hope after years of battling endometriosis.

And we are hosting a fundraising event in Bristol with music and other fun activities. Other fundraisers will occur and if you have any suggestions or advice which might help my situation please let me know.

Thank you to anyone who can help and my friends and family who have already helped me so much already.

Iona