A beautiful fundraising gala hosted by Fertile Futures at the majestic Hotel Vancouver. Quickly after my diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, I was referred to a fertility clinic in Kelowna, because many people do not realize, but infertility resides on the long and horrid list of potential side effects of chemotherapy drugs.

I was treated as part of their “Compassionate Care” program, which meant that I was able to surpass the two to three month long waiting list, I was actually in the clinic the following day, I was given free hormone injections as part of the treatment and the regularly $10,000+ procedure cost me, well… it was incredibly affordable. And I am forever grateful for this!

Thanks to Fertile Futures, this actually all happened without me having to fill out an application and wait to hear if I would be accepted into their program or not. All of the necessary paper work was done for me behind the scenes – all I had to do was show up and make as many eggs as I possibly could!

This organization was so fantastic to me, that when we heard that they were putting on a fundraising gala in Vancouver a few months later, we had to be there! The gala happened to fall on the day after my sixth chemotherapy treatment, but that didn’t slow me down! My mom, sister, two and a half month old niece and I piled into the car and headed for the glamorous Hotel Vancouver. We felt like a bunch of princesses staying in this lush and historic hotel right in the heart of Vancouver’s hottest shopping district, and did I ever feel like a diva wearing a new dress, heals and red lipstick the day after my treatment. This defiantly beat sweatpants on the couch!

The night consisted of cocktails, a beautiful three course meal, a silent auction and for us, meeting the people in charge of an organization that had made such an impact on our entire family.