A fundraiser has been launched by a Frome family to help their daughter freeze her eggs before a major operation that could affect her fertility.
Jessie Nuttall-Hampton, 21, has lived with severe endometriosis and Premenstrual Dysmorphic Disorder (PMDD) since she was 11. She is due to undergo surgery in the summer which could see parts of her ovaries removed.
Endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside it, often on the ovaries, fallopian tubes and other reproductive organs, causing chronic pain. PMDD is a hormone-based disorder that can cause severe mood changes.
Doctors advised Jessie to freeze her eggs before the operation. However, egg freezing is not funded by the NHS in her circumstances. Private treatment can cost up to £20,000, with ongoing storage fees of £500 a year or more.
“Very, very quickly after finding out about this, the doctor said you need to freeze your eggs but they can’t do that for free,” Jessie said.
“They suggested a clinic to us and it’s so much money for what feels like a human right. It is insane that it is not offered for free to women with a condition like endometriosis that means they might not be able to have children.”
Jessie’s family set up the fundraiser, which has raised over £12,000.
“I cannot comprehend the support,” Jessie said. “I felt really uncomfortable about the fundraiser. I feel like there are so many people suffering from endometriosis and I am so lucky to receive some of the care I do receive; it felt like a push to have to ask.”
Jessie, a former Frome College student, was studying criminology at the University of the West of England in Bristol but had to leave and move back home due to her condition.
“I was so proud to have made it to university but unfortunately I was having issues and had to come back here to be with my mum for my health,” she said. “I need help with my mobility and everything that occurs when you are living with chronic pain daily.”
She described the pain as “horrific”, saying it has worsened over the past year.
When she was 19, a gynaecologist told her to “have a baby quickly” to heal her endometriosis, but also said she was “probably very unlikely” to conceive.
“My world crumbled in front of me being told that at 19,” Jessie said. “For me personally, having children has always been something I have really, really wanted. The idea that it might not be my choice was really hard.”
Jessie also believes that more education in schools is needed on female menstrual health. “I wasn’t taught enough about my body. There’s a whole range of women’s conditions that are really lifechanging. You don’t know to notice that something is wrong if you are not taught about it.”
She also said that more research needs to be done. “You are so medically gaslit,” she said. “There were times when I went to the GP about it and there were times when I told them about the pain but you are just told it’s normal. It is not; my pain is not normal and when you are told that, you just take it because you trust them.”
To support Jessie’s fundraising campaign, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-my-daughter-save-her-eggs
Jessie is also encouraging people to sign a national petition for NHS funding for egg freezing for those with endometriosis. To sign the petition, visit, https://petition.parliament.uk/signatures/169179117/signed
