PLEASE HELP CHELSEA & LUKE FUND THEIR IVF.

No, this is not for me (not at my age!) this is for my daughter Chelsea, and Luke.

It is not easy for us to ask for help, or share a personal family fertility struggle, especially publicly.

Chelsea didn’t want me to do this, she said she feels bad for asking. She thinks that if you're not raising money for charity people won’t be inclined to give it to you.

I’m sure there will be some people who say, 'Well, if they want a baby, they need to pay for it themselves." that's why we are reluctant to ask for help. But when you want something so badly, then you have to put your ego and pride to one side…

This is their story, so far…

Chelsea met Luke a few years a go now. Luke was, and still is, a fulltime dad to little Holly. Holly is a very active 5-year-old and they all live together near York.

They decided that they were ready to extend their little family. But they soon discovered that it wasn’t quite as easy to get pregnant as they thought.

After trying for the last 2 years with no luck, they decided to try and get some answers. We all thought that with a little medical intervention, all would be good. That has not been the case, and after lots of tests Chelsea and Luke were referred to Leeds Fertility Clinic where there have been further tests. Blood tests (Chelsea faints at the sight of blood ) sperm tests, and scans.

Chelsea was then told that she would have to have additional testing. A procedure called a Gynaecological Laparoscopy. A gynaecological laparoscopy (keyhole surgery) is a procedure to look inside your lower tummy (abdomen) to examine your womb (uterus), ovaries and dye test your fallopian tubes. This meant being admitted to the day ward at Leeds Fertility Clinic, which was not as straight forward as you would think. All the things that could possibly go wrong with the procedure were explained. We all know that they have to tell you the worst-case scenario, just in case.

Early evening that same day, Chelsea calls, she is sobbing groggily down the phone. I could barely make out what she was saying. That worst-case scenario had become a reality. The dye test showed that Chelsea fallopian tubes were so badly damaged/closed up that the dye couldn’t even get through, the surgeon said she had no other option other than to remove them totally. We all cried. The idea of having a new baby in the family felt utterly impossible.

How was Chelsea going to deal with the fact that she may never have a baby that she so desperately wanted, how would we all deal with it as a family. So, what was meant to be a day procedure resulted in being admitted overnight ordeal due to a couple of complications and a catheter being fitted (ouch).

It was an agonising 6 week wait till the post procedure check-up, there were lots of frustration, tears, questions, anger, why Me’s and feelings of hopelessness. Chelsea said it just felt like the whole world was getting pregnant around her, and while those people were celebrating pregnant bellies everywhere, her belly felt lifeless and her body felt broken. She felt she couldn’t even go and visit friends who had babies or small children.

I hope that after reading this they now understand why she was avoiding them.

There wasn’t much support from the fertility clinic over the weeks prior to the check-up, which she desperately needed as she had so many questions, feeling and emotions that she had not experienced before and needed help to understand them. In the end she felt she had to turn to infertility support groups which she said she found helpful.

At the 6 weeks check-up Chelsea and Luke were given a glimmer of hope. Chelsea was told she was still producing a good collection of eggs (technical medical term) and that she could still carry/have their own baby with the help of IVF.

Unfortunately, Chelsea and Luke have been refused NHS funding for IVF on the grounds that Luke already has a biological child.

Total cost for the treatment will be around £14,000 for a package of 3 rounds of IVF. We aren't expecting to hit the target with donations at all, and we are all working hard to save every penny towards the costs.

We would really appreciate any help you can give. We will continue to work hard and save any money we can ourselves. The target I've set is high, but even if we only gain a tiny amount from this we would feel honoured.

You don't really understand how painful infertility is until you are going through it—not just for the potential parents but for the whole family involved. It’s heart breaking.

The months ahead are going to be a roller coaster of tests, procedures and emotions so if you are unable to donate then please just keep your fingers crossed that when they do start IVF that they are successful. We are all nervous and apprehensive but so excited to have HOPE that Chelsea becomes a mummy, Luke becomes a Daddy for the second time, Holly becomes a big sister, Millie becomes a doting Aunty and I become a Glam-ma.

Thank you