SUNDAY POST ARTICLE - OCTOBER 2013

Just a quick post, basically to remind myself we did this...

The Lister Clinic in London are giving away 25 free cycles of IVF to help people suffering at the hands of the IVF postcode Lottery.

It wouldn't be 100% funded but we already have the money raised to cover the costs that would be incurred to us.....what a great opportunity this could be..

We appear to fit all the criteria so my letter is written....

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If we don't try we will never know xx Paula xx

You may have noticed there hasn't been many blog posts this year but thought I would take a moment to write a few words.

Busy settling into our new home, setting up my own business and looking forward to Christmas...

Just looking back through last years blog posts, what a difference a year makes and can't believe it's a year since we were planning our big December fundraiser!

No more fundraising on the agenda just yet, life just needs to get totally back on track, maybe next year we will sit down and decide what do next but for now we are just getting on with life.....

Paula xx

Not sure whether to blog when there isn't much to say really or to keep on popping over and leaving a few lines just so people know i'm still here and still stuck on where to go next....

Nothing much has changed since I last blogged.

I had a call from The Sunday Times last week , we had a phone interview and we expect our article to be published this coming Sunday...she asked me lots of questions....

Q. Who donates to you the most?
A. So many close friends and family and we are surprised at donations from people we have never met yet they relate to our story or genuinely want to help

Q.Have you had any negative comments?
A. Yes....but it doesn't stop us believing in what we are doing. The people that give us negative comments either have children or do not have children yet but assume they will oneday.....they have never encountered infertility.....I would be interested to see what they would do/how they would react if they were told they were infertile. Also, we don't make anyone donate, they do so out of choice :)

Q. Do people speak with you about your infertility?
A. Some people do but the majority don't, even some close friends haven't event spoke to us about it

Q. Why do you think that is?
A. We understand it's hard for people. People don't know enough about infertility therefore don't know how to approach it and speak openly about it. Illnesses such as cancer, alzheimers, mental health etc are widely publicised by some huge charities so people know more about them. People just don't seem to know about infertility.

Q. What do you think needs to change?
A. If we never have a child of our own, if I could do anything I really would love to be able to raise awareness, not only about the IVF postcode lottery, but also about infertility in general. As far as I am concerned this is a medical condition that we need help with......yet we don't have access to that treatment. But....unless you have gone through it I guess you will ever understand completely...I want to help people understand and hopefully make more people help other people that are going through it! We want to talk about it and are happy to answer questions.

Q. So, what are you doing about raising the rest of the funds you need?
A. We had our fundraiser in December, we then had our new home to decorate and moved in in march so we agreed to have some downtime so we could get back to normality and enjoy life a bit more. Life wasn't good last year and although I want nothing more than to be a mummy, I have to make sure I am happy, living my life and not letting things take over. I would hate to get poorly again.

Q.Do you think your supporters/donaters understand why you are taking a break?
A. We are so grateful to all the people that have helped us so far but yes, we hope they understand why we have had to put it on hold at the moment.

Q. What next?
A. Carry on with life, be happy and when the time is right we will arrange some more fundraising events however we really do want to continue raising awareness of this and would love to see an end to this lottery

xx Paula xx

A good friend of mine pointed out I haven't blogged lately!
Last year I think I overblogged....but glad I did :)

The reason for no recent posts......pretty much the same as my last post in April...

Just concentrating on my health, taking steps forward and not backwards and deciding what we want to do next.

In no way does this mean we have given up, stopped thinking about it, stopped considering our options etc....that is exactly what we are doing.....thinking.

Last year was an emotional rollercoaster and everytime I think about how I felt then, I feel it exactly the same again....I can't explain and will never be able to make someone feel or understand how I felt then or feel now but just hope people understand our 'down time' :)

We would also like people to know that the fantastic amount of money raised so far is in a safe place and ready to be added to when the time is right :)

We massively appreciate the amazing support we have off people, we cannot thank people enough....

 xxxxxxxx

In The Sunday Post today...

I haven't posted for a while...

This blog will be updated in due course but in the mean time me and the hubby are enjoying 'us' time...last year was massively taken up with me being poorly and of course planning our fundraiser....

Just being happy at the moment and considering our options/aims for the future...

Thank you to everyone for their continued support, our friends and family are amazing xx

You may have noticed that I aren't blogging as much at the moment......2013 is so different to 2012 for me....this is my second post of the year, I have been so busy so just popping in to diary a few things :)

Still busy with our house move, our fresh start, we cannot wait and have only a few weeks left before we finally get to move in and look forward to new beginnings.

Something I haven't blogged about yet is, and please don't tell my doctor as I will be in trouble, but I have managed to come off my anti-depressants which is a massive achievement! I didn't mean to, i forgot to take them for a few days as we have been so busy with the new house and I felt 'ok' so thought I would try a few more days and here I am, a few weeks later and all is good.
Maybe the wrong way to come off them...but maybe the right way?!
I think last year took over so much, the tablets were a big part of my life, I thought I needed them, I thought it would take me so long to come off them.....is it all in the mind really?!
Admittedly I needed them in the beginning when I was struggling, but now, in a more positive frame of mind, I think it's the right time to get them out of my life....I feel good for it...

Support from people and also being able to support other people is very important to me right now.
My friend Katy, who was very supportive during our fundraiser planning, is now on her second IVF journey (please correct me if I am wrong Katy x), I love to see her daily updates on what her gorgeous little miracle number one is up to, she is such a cutie, and now she is hoping for miracle number two and I have everything crossed for her - good luck Katy.....definitely think you may be blessed with twins lol xx
Also, Sara, a fellow fundraiser, she has down days like I did but I love to be able to send her words of advice and support, us girls need to stick together and I will do all I can to help Sara on her journey too - good luck Sara, you will get there, keep smiling xx
And, Lianne, although not an IVF'er, you are truly blessed to be on your second journey to motherhood, you really do deserve it and I wish you all the luck in the world xx

I do feel more positive this year, I think having something to keep me busy has helped me massively....as I said to my Mum a few days ago, I don't think a day goes by that I do not think about babies, being a mummy, fundraising, IVF treatment etc etc but we are only here once, we only have one life and I was so lucky to meet my husband that I need to look after the time we have together, enjoy it to the fullest and hope that oneday we are lucky enough to be blessed with a baby Mc'B'!!

It's been over a month since I last posted.....there is a reason for that...

2012 had to be one of the most emotional and mentally draining years of my life...

We found out all about our specific infertility issues, that we cannot get funding and need to raise the money ourselves, we held a fundraising day which was a massive challenge and I lost my job!

Smiley pictures!
 We didn't have many of these last year!

So I promised myself that after our fundraiser in December, it would be time for a rest, time for a break from 'thinking' every single day about how on earth we could raise the money we need and to concentrate on getting myself better and in a better place so I would be strong enough to continue with our fundraising.
As part of our fresh start we are moving house, we haven't told many people about our move as we didn't want to tempt fate but all seems to be going well and January has seen us busy with decorating and interior design!

Ready for painting!!

It has made such a massive difference to how I am feeling, I am burning calories and finally on track to losing the 3 stone I have put on over the last year...I have a reason to get out of my bed each morning and my body is actually agreeing with me for once and my mind is occupied with something other than babies and raising money which is exactly what I need!
So, once we are moved I am on the lookout for a new job, perhaps just part time to begin with and then we can look at fundraising ideas again.

In the meantime we are still getting so much support and so many messages from people. I have also spoken to a few people that are in a similar situation to us, giving them advice on how they can perhaps raise the funds they need, I feel great being able to help other people too.

Also spoken to a lovely lady at Sutton Sanctuary (find them on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sutton.sanctuary), they offer a relaxation cd for people undergoing infertility and fertility treatment. They retail at £6.50 and they have offered us a percentage of their sales for each sale they make...

So if it would be something you would be interested in please follow this link http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130841948521?ssPageName=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649 or contact them on Facebook and mention 'Paula & Pete's Fundraising' ..... this is such a kind and lovely idea and we are so touched by their support so a massive thank you to them :)

  I aren't saying I don't think about everything, probably every day, but I aren't letting it take over my life, I can't and I won't...my main priority is me and my wonderful husband.....

I will leave it here for now...thank you for reading xx