A Sidcup couple who tragically lost their twin baby boys last year after their ninth attempt at IVF treatment have refused to give up as they fundraise for surrogacy costs.
In 2013, Nicola and Mark Fletcher began what would be a long and harrowing journey as they tried to become parents.
After a while of being unable to conceive, they were told IVF would be the best option.
Unfortunately, following eight cycles of the treatment, the couple suffered four miscarriages and four non-implantations.
Marc with baby Ellis
On their ninth attempt, Nicola successfully gave birth to twin boys, Charlie and Ellis, in July of last year.
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But the couple suffered a devastating blow after the boys were delivered at 24 weeks and Charlie passed away 10 hours after birth.
His brother Ellis fought for four weeks but died after suffering severe brain damage.
Charlie and Ellis Fletcher were born after the couple's ninth IVF attempt
In the midst of all this, Nicola's father Kevin also became ill with cancer and passed away as the couple were going through their sixth IVF attempt.
"It's been really hard, we've just come up on his second year death anniversary.
"He fought very hard for 18 months as he had suffered with a rare form of cancer, gallbladder cancer.
"He fought hard but he just gave in at the end, couldn't do it anymore," said Nicola.
As tough as the past six years have been for this brave couple, they have been given new hope in their fight to start a family as Nicola's best friend, Carly, has stepped in and offered to be their surrogate.
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However, funding remains an issue for the pair as they have spent approximately £125,000 since 2013 on the expensive and complex treatments which included visiting some of the top clinics in London as well as securing treatment abroad in Greece.
"We haven't given up yet and it's hard, you know?
"We've had to go without for so long. We don't have holidays, we don't do meals out, we don't treat ourselves.
"Anything we get or have gotten goes straight into IVF," said Nicola.
Nicola's other close friends have since started a GoFundMe campaign in an attempt to raise funds for a fresh round of IVF for Carly to give the couple a fighting chance at having their own children.
"So the money raised will go towards fees for a fresh cycle of IVF, the collection, maternity gear for Carly, legal bills and counselling as you can't actually pay someone for surrogacy in this country," she said.
Nicola's friends, who started the online fundraising campaign for them, wrote: "Their positivity and strength has been breathtaking.
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"Helplessly watching our lovely friends go through this has been horrendous, so we are asking from the bottom of our hearts for anything that you can spare to ease this financial stress, when they are already going through so much."
At the time of writing, the couple's online fundraiser stands at £1,100 after only four days, with an end goal set at £20,000.
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