health

Emma's devastating diagnosis: Menopause at age 30.

 

Emma Kershaw has always dreamed of having family of her own.

So you can imagine her distress when her doctor told her she was expected to go through menopause as early as age 30 — only six years away.

The 24-year-old Gold Coast woman discovered last year she had a very low anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) levels, a hormone that is secreted by cells in developing egg sacs.

The level of AMH in a woman’s blood is an indicator of her ovarian reserve. For Ms Kershaw, her results were devastating.

“This came as a massive shock as no one in my family has gone through menopause before the age of 50,” she wrote on GoFundMe.

Emma Kershaw is trying to raise funds for her third egg freezing cycle. Image via Facebook/Emma Kershaw.

Because she is single, her doctor recommended that she freeze her eggs so when she is ready to have children, she will have "good quality eggs" available.

The young Queenslander is treating this as a "back-up plan" in case she doesn't meet her Mr Right before she reaches menopause.

She has so far complete two IVF egg freezing cycles. Seven eggs were preserved the first time, but her doctor was only able to freeze two in the second cycle.

She now has nine mature eggs frozen but has been told you should have 10 eggs for a chance at having one baby.

Fearing the prospect of not being able to have a child of her own, she has decided to undergo a third cycle.

Each egg freezing cycle is costing Ms Kershaw $10,000. Image via iStock.
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But this treatment does not come cheap. Each cycle has so far cost her $10,000 and after paying for the last two on her credit card, she is unable to go further into debt for a third.

So she is pleading generous web-users to help her cover the costs.

"I would really love the chance to have at least one baby," she wrote.

"I know I'm asking for a lot but it's my dream to have a family of my own.

"I am aware that there is no guarantee of this all working out but it least I know I tried my best to prepare for a family and that I gave myself a chance. "

She has so far raised just $1000 of her $10,000 goal. You can donate to Ms Kershaw by clicking here.