A Teesside mum is raising money to help her fund a full hysterectomy aged 29 due a crippling condition which she claims "the NHS doesn't care about" due to a long waiting list.
Emma Jamieson, from Middlesbrough, is due to have surgery on July 22 to end her four-year ordeal of chronic pain caused by endometriosis, reports Teeside Live.
She wants to make her "voice heard" and why she is having the hysterectomy so young privately, due to the NHS waiting list.
It was due to cost around £12,500, but an MRI scan earlier this month showed endometriosis had spread to her bowel, raising the figure to £13,320 as she is required to pay for the bowel surgeon to be present during her operation.
Emma said: "I'd rather people know the reality of how horrible it can be for people in my position who feel forced to pay more than they paid for their house deposit for life changing surgery because the NHS doesn't care."
However, she has thanked generous members of the public who have donated to her fundraising page.
She added: "Luckily donations from the fundraiser and an incredibly generous family friend has totaled to just over £3,000 so my loan amount was luckily reduced to £10,000.
"It feels bizarre to be talking about such large sums of money like it's monopoly money."
Emma is currently suffering with stage four - the most "severe" classification of the long-term illness.
The senior clerk at a transport company said: "It all started really about four to five years ago and I kept going to the doctors for period pain.
"It was an awful abdomen pain all the time."
She was reportedly told that it was "probably ovarian cysts" which are "really common and it was nothing to worry about".
But Emma knew something wasn't right as her cycle "went crazy".
After one-year of dealing with the pain, she was sent for an ultrasound scan which identified a cyst on her right ovary and a "chocolate cyst" on her left ovary.
The chocolate cyst - also ovarian endometriomas - was 2.5cm big but doctors "weren't concerned" as it wasn't over 4cm.
Emma told how she had regular pain flare ups, including a stay in hospital with suspected appendicitis, and was "doubled over in pain".
Her health problems began to affect every aspect of her life including exercising and forced her to take sick days from work.
Finally in 2019, she referred for an internal ultrasound scan where she was diagnosed with kissing ovaries - which refers to the appearance seen when both ovaries are located in close proximity or are touching each other.
Emma was told that it is a sign of endometriosis over a long period of time.
"Before I went in I was thinking please don't let it be endometriosis," she said.
"I won't be able to deal with it. You just never know what's going on internally."
Then Emma had a consultation at James Cook University Hospital where she was asked if she had plans for more children and referred to an endometriosis specialist.
She was given a contraceptive pill which she describes as a "life ruiner" after "bleeding everyday for six months".
Emma has also told how she has stopped eating red meat and dairy , as well as drinking alcohol, in order to stop "flare ups" of her pain.
She also experienced a number of delays with her specialist appointment.
Speaking about numerous letters explaining "unforeseen circumstances" leading to push back appointments, the mum said: "I had to go into the toilets crying.
"I was thinking I don't know when I'm going to get the help I need. I feel essentially lost in the system."
One month ago, the specialist then ordered a laparoscopy - keyhole surgery - which had a two-year waiting list.
But Emma said she was given few options of how to relieve her symptoms whilst she waits for the operation.
Her best friend Sophiemay Bird said: "At this appointment the doctor informed her that the waiting list was two years, and one of the best ways to relieve the symptoms was to get pregnant. But [they] had just informed her that her fertility rates had been massively impacted and that pregnancies when you have stage four could result in ectopic pregnancies and have a much higher chance of miscarriage.
"She said she was prepared to have a full hysterectomy. The doctor implied it wasn’t the right choice because she may want another child, but God forbid she makes this decision for herself."
Emma continued: "This is not a decision I have taken lightly. Me and my partner have had several conversations about it and we're done having children. We don't want any more kids as it's not just me that has to go through it.
"I feel incredibly lucky to have already have a child. A hysterectomy is not a cure because they can't take everything out but it could be on my nerves, my pelvic wall, my bowel."
She added: "It's been four year story of trying to speak louder and louder to have my voice heard."
After the NHS appointment, knowing she’s going to go for her hysterectomy, Emma had a private consultation with a specialist in Birmingham.
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He "listened, acknowledged and agreed" with her decision and Emma began the process of preparing for a full hysterectomy.
Emma's friend Sophiemay said: "I wanted to do something to help her, to help support her, to put towards the bill. I’ve watched a determined, strong, self built woman be brought down by endometriosis.
"Whilst she’s still all those things, she now doesn’t feel it. It’s hindered her daily life, her relationships, her abilities.
"She can no longer do all the things her daughter asks, she can no longer eat or drink foods she loved, she can no longer exercise as often as she wants, she has to make sacrifices, she has to adjust and change her daily life to avoid flares, to avoid bleeds, to avoid angering her body.
"Having a hysterectomy is a choice she hasn’t made lightly, but this is something she needs, and not something she can wait for two years for."
She set up a fundraising page to help with the cost of Emma's surgery.
Donations can be made on the GoFundMe page, here.
