Once upon a time,
Organised by Julie Bu · December 30, 2022
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll">Once upon a time, Matt and I had a wonderful life….</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll">We definitely still do. We have been loving each other unconditionally for 15 years. But sometimes life gives you more than one challenge, and you need to find enough strength and faith to take them.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll">Last year, on the day of my birthday, we received the news that my lovely husband was diagnosed with a breast cancer, and needed to start a long process of chemotherapy treatment. This day probably meant the loss of his fertility, and obviously the incapacity to have our own baby the natural way.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll">We were already so scared and devastated about the disease, and adding the fact that we might never be parents on top of it was a lot to process.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll">We are both French, and when we believed that moving to another country was the biggest challenge of our life… it was nothing compare to this new journey.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll">After a couple of IUIs and one IVF treatment, I finally got pregnant. Unfortunately we lost it at 8 weeks...</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll">As of today, I don’t have enough eggs left, and the clock is tinkling faster and faster. And if we don’t want to miss this wonderful opportunity to be parents one day, we have to move forward, take up the challenge, be strong, and keep hope and faith.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll">We never imagined starting a fundraising, and we feel embarrassed to share our hard reality and open our hearts.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll">Before launching this fundraising, we tried every possibilities to keep going on our own – for instance going to Europe for cheapest treatments…</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll">It looked so easy to plan alternatives at first, but here we are!!!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll">Today, we are ready to keep going on this journey, but we need you. We need some help for our fertility treatments that we cannot afford anymore. Reading our story you are somehow already part of this journey with us.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll">Thank you for reading our story.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll">Thank you for sharing it.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll">Thank you for all contributions we can have.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll">THANK YOU!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;color: #222c2b;background-image: none;background-position: 0%;background-size: auto;background-attachment: scroll">We are throwing here “une bouteille à la mer” as we say in French - it is an expression we use to send a desperate message which may be heard and granted.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, sans-serif">To be continued…</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;font-size: medium;font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 14pt"> </span></p>
