I am writing this out of desperation.

Skye has suffered with chronic pain since she was 10 years old.

As Skye’s mum, I have watched her suffer for years with stage 4 endometriosis - a severe, progressive condition that’s now affecting her bowel and uterus. Her organs have fused together, and her health continues to deteriorate.

It took seven years for Skye to receive a diagnosis and a further 2 years of waiting to see a specialist. During that time her pain was repeatedly minimised and dismissed. Once diagnosed, she was placed on a waiting list to see a specialist at The women’s hospital to discuss surgery and treatment options. After years of waiting, we were told that all of the hospital’s gynaecology/endometriosis specialists had retired.

We have since transferred her care to another hospital, where she is now on another waiting list - currently estimated at two years. Meanwhile, Skye’s condition continues to worsen. With bowel involvement and organs already fused, delays increase the risk of serious complications and make treatment more difficult.

Throughout this process I have watched Skye be dismissed, gaslit, and belittled during visits to A&E. Despite severe symptoms, we are repeatedly told that emergency services can do little beyond temporary pain relief. On more than one occasion we have been advised that the only realistic way forward is private specialist care.

Skye is just 21 years old. She should be building her life, working, making plans, and enjoying her independence. Instead she lives with constant, debilitating pain. She regularly misses work, relies on strong opioid painkillers, and lives with the ongoing fear that something more serious - such as a bowel complication - could be developing.

Her pain is so intense that she uses hot water bottles constantly, sometimes to the point of burning her skin, simply to cope. The toll on her mental health, work life, and social life has been devastating.

As her mum, it is heartbreaking to feel so powerless.

We are not in a position to cover private healthcare costs ourselves. We are raising funds so Skye can be seen urgently by a specialist endometriosis consultant, access appropriate diagnostic imaging, and move towards specialist treatment and/or surgery as recommended.

Funds raised will go towards: specialist consultations, scans/tests, treatment planning, potential surgery costs, follow-up appointments etc.

If you can donate, thank you. If you can’t, please consider sharing, it genuinely helps. We will post updates as Skye progresses.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read Skye’s story and for any support you can offer.