<div>I work very hard to practice earnestness and vulnerability, both in my real life and on the socials, but this is definitely the most vulnerable thing I’ve ever publicly written. I have a really hard time asking for help with certain things. Asking to borrow a large vehicle to transport a Christmas tree? No problem. Asking for help with something that reveals that I have emotional needs like a normal human being? Hard nope. A childhood and young adulthood of being neglected, abused, and let down by the people that are supposed to be there for you the most has lead me to be self-sufficient to a fault. I have decided the only way I can ask for help is if I attach this request to my birthday, so I’m gritting my teeth and asking my village for help.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a mom. When I was a kid, if a stack of magazines was provided for an art project at school, I’d be digging through it looking for any issues of Today’s Parent so I could read the articles. At the turn of the millennium, I was ten, and Canada Post was issuing a special edition postmark, so I wrote and mailed myself a letter to be opened in ten years as a time capsule. My whole letter was about my dreams to have a family when I grew up. As I got older and it became more and more apparent to me how much the adults in my life had failed me through abuse and neglect, it became more and more important to me to create my own version of the family that I had been denied.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>And yet, I’m about to turn 34 on February 13th, and this family I’ve long dreamed of creating has yet to appear. While I have so much respect and admiration for the incredible human beings that embark on solo parenting journeys by using donors, that is definitely not the path for me, and I have yet to find my other half, so I am embarking on freezing my eggs to ensure I still have a chance of raising a family in the future. I had a consult with the fertility clinic at Mount Sinai Hospital in July and was informed that egg freezing is most successful in women under 35, so it is recommended that I complete the procedure this year. I also learned that this procedure is very invasive, emotionally draining, and costs approximately $8000. I hung up the Zoom call with the extremely friendly nurse and sobbed. Not just about the cost - I was semi-prepared for that - but about the overwhelming amount of information, the invasive medical appointments, and the embarking on this journey all by myself. I posted a little bit about this on Facebook back then, and a few very kind souls suggested that when the time comes, I reach out and let my community support me. So here I am.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I’m not struggling to pay my bills, so I’m struggling emotionally with asking for people’s money. But, my 16-year-old car is on its last legs, my dog requires 21 expensive pills a day to function and is likely to be around for many more years, and my lovely house is in the most horrible neighbourhood in Peterborough that regularly takes a toll on my mental health, so I need to move. My near future is filled with ongoing and large expenses. I don’t have any benefits. No one can hold my hand through every step of this overwhelming egg freezing process, but the financial support of my village would be an immeasurable help during the process.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>After the initial sob, I reconnected with the fertility clinic at Mount Sinai in Toronto and we decided it would make more sense for me to connect with a clinic closer to Peterborough. I have an appointment with a clinic in Whitby in March and am trying to look forward to this next appointment with renewed hope and courage.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>If you’ve read this far - please know that this was absolutely terrifying to write, but I am so grateful you are part of my village ❤️
</div>

Murray MacAdam

Dhruv Thakkar

Sarah Bunting

Jamie Manuel

Anonymous

Farah Tamachi

Krisztina Szabo

Tammy Ferguson

Kristen English

Shawna Clouthier

Melody’s 34th Birthday: Help Freeze Her Eggs

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

be_supporter_comments_enabled_supported_funds

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Melody’s 34th Birthday: Help Freeze Her Eggs

Still $3,981 to go. Help us build momentum.