IVF for a healthy baby
Donation protected
Thank you for taking the time to read this petition. Asking and receiving help is among the most vulnerable human experiences and recognizing that staying in my comfort zone won't help me realize my wish. I have decided to take this leap of faith and share a little bit of a story that many would not be able to know just by looking at my face.
I write this appeal with the understanding that some people have life-threatening conditions and knowing that despite the pain and frustrations that endometriosis has brought upon me, others have dealt with even more difficulties and in some cases without a possible solution.
I first got my period when I was nine (I know, that's probably too much information, and you didn't need to know it) however, aiming to provide context; it is essential to understand how early in life I encountered the challenges that now prevent me from conceiving a child naturally. It was at nine that I first experienced an excruciating pelvic pain that would end-up dominating my puberty, teenage years and adult life. It took doctors more than ten years to identify what they later called a severe case of endometriosis. At that moment, little did I know that with time, my life's priorities would change, and the tradeoff of enduring that pain was retaining my ability to one day conceive a child.
Since an early age, most of my periods meant a visit to the emergency room. The pain often felt as if everything was being pulled out of me from perhaps the most sensitive area in my body. I often begged doctors to remove the organs that were causing the agony. The sense of despair that I felt often overpowered my ability to think rationally about the future.
Many years later, after moving to the US, I was unable to obtain health insurance for many years because endometriosis was a pre-existing condition. So, I kept travelling back to my native country to receive medical treatment as well as subsequent surgeries. However, in 2009, I was taken to the emergency room for severe kidney pain and as it happened the adhesions from the endometriosis had extended and blocked my left kidney, liver and bowels, and a new operation was required to try to preserve the kidney which has been compromised. After many tests, they decided to release me with the argument that my case represented a liability for whoever tried to operate on me because my previous surgeries have been outside of the US. After delivering what is perhaps the most unfavourable prognosis that I have heard to date, they sent me home. This episode produced a series of PSTD symptoms that lasted for months as it was the first time that I have received a detailed description of what my medical condition really looked like —inside.
Following that ER visit, arrangements were made for me to have the surgery that I needed with a very reputable doctor who finally made me 'pain-free.' After that surgery, my cycle was uneventful for the first time in twenty years. As time progressed, it felt that a new way of life was indeed possible. However, sometime after that last surgery, I went back to visit the doctor who treated me in my native country. I wanted to have his assessment given the incredible results that have been achieved, addressing my pain for the first time. After all, he had seen me for almost a decade prior to that surgery, and I wanted to share with him that contrary to previous procedures, this time, this other doctor had found a way to operate and make the pain disappear.
It was during that visit that I came to understand that I had no more pain because my left ovary had been taken out, and only right 'ovarian tissue' remained which was only sufficient for a 'light period' and that imminent menopause awaited me at age 30. I knew it, the doctor had explained what he did and more importantly what needed to be done to tackle the never-ending adhesions which were taking my other organs, but what I did not know or fully understood were the ramifications and full implications of those removals. It had not dawned on me until the doctor said: "Yes, you have no pain, but by removing those organs, he removed the possibility of you having a [biological] child" a statement that seemed logical until I met the love of my life and felt for the first time the desire to create a family. Right now, I am 38 and will soon undergo surgery number 10th for endometriosis-related issues.
I understand that in many cases, a family can mean just two people. However, in this case, we are hoping to multiply, and the plan keeps being postponed for financial reasons while my biological clock keeps warning of its limitations. Therefore, unless we are very proactive, which is the reason for this campaign, we won't experience the joy of parenthood together. So, this coming September, we are hoping to undergo IVF through egg donation and wish for a healthy little miracle with a face.
I hope we can count with you and promise to send you pictures and keep you updated as much as you would like to be. Please let us know if you have any questions. Otherwise, I cannot thank you enough for reading this far.
This is a private campaign, please share consciously, and we very kindly ask you not to post it on social media.
Much gratitude
I write this appeal with the understanding that some people have life-threatening conditions and knowing that despite the pain and frustrations that endometriosis has brought upon me, others have dealt with even more difficulties and in some cases without a possible solution.
I first got my period when I was nine (I know, that's probably too much information, and you didn't need to know it) however, aiming to provide context; it is essential to understand how early in life I encountered the challenges that now prevent me from conceiving a child naturally. It was at nine that I first experienced an excruciating pelvic pain that would end-up dominating my puberty, teenage years and adult life. It took doctors more than ten years to identify what they later called a severe case of endometriosis. At that moment, little did I know that with time, my life's priorities would change, and the tradeoff of enduring that pain was retaining my ability to one day conceive a child.
Since an early age, most of my periods meant a visit to the emergency room. The pain often felt as if everything was being pulled out of me from perhaps the most sensitive area in my body. I often begged doctors to remove the organs that were causing the agony. The sense of despair that I felt often overpowered my ability to think rationally about the future.
Many years later, after moving to the US, I was unable to obtain health insurance for many years because endometriosis was a pre-existing condition. So, I kept travelling back to my native country to receive medical treatment as well as subsequent surgeries. However, in 2009, I was taken to the emergency room for severe kidney pain and as it happened the adhesions from the endometriosis had extended and blocked my left kidney, liver and bowels, and a new operation was required to try to preserve the kidney which has been compromised. After many tests, they decided to release me with the argument that my case represented a liability for whoever tried to operate on me because my previous surgeries have been outside of the US. After delivering what is perhaps the most unfavourable prognosis that I have heard to date, they sent me home. This episode produced a series of PSTD symptoms that lasted for months as it was the first time that I have received a detailed description of what my medical condition really looked like —inside.
Following that ER visit, arrangements were made for me to have the surgery that I needed with a very reputable doctor who finally made me 'pain-free.' After that surgery, my cycle was uneventful for the first time in twenty years. As time progressed, it felt that a new way of life was indeed possible. However, sometime after that last surgery, I went back to visit the doctor who treated me in my native country. I wanted to have his assessment given the incredible results that have been achieved, addressing my pain for the first time. After all, he had seen me for almost a decade prior to that surgery, and I wanted to share with him that contrary to previous procedures, this time, this other doctor had found a way to operate and make the pain disappear.
It was during that visit that I came to understand that I had no more pain because my left ovary had been taken out, and only right 'ovarian tissue' remained which was only sufficient for a 'light period' and that imminent menopause awaited me at age 30. I knew it, the doctor had explained what he did and more importantly what needed to be done to tackle the never-ending adhesions which were taking my other organs, but what I did not know or fully understood were the ramifications and full implications of those removals. It had not dawned on me until the doctor said: "Yes, you have no pain, but by removing those organs, he removed the possibility of you having a [biological] child" a statement that seemed logical until I met the love of my life and felt for the first time the desire to create a family. Right now, I am 38 and will soon undergo surgery number 10th for endometriosis-related issues.
I understand that in many cases, a family can mean just two people. However, in this case, we are hoping to multiply, and the plan keeps being postponed for financial reasons while my biological clock keeps warning of its limitations. Therefore, unless we are very proactive, which is the reason for this campaign, we won't experience the joy of parenthood together. So, this coming September, we are hoping to undergo IVF through egg donation and wish for a healthy little miracle with a face.
I hope we can count with you and promise to send you pictures and keep you updated as much as you would like to be. Please let us know if you have any questions. Otherwise, I cannot thank you enough for reading this far.
This is a private campaign, please share consciously, and we very kindly ask you not to post it on social media.
Much gratitude
Organizer
L. R.
Organizer
England
