Jennifer & Chris
We are Jennifer and Chris, a loving couple based in Toronto, Ontario, hopeful and excited to expand our family through surrogacy. We have been happily married for eleven years and together for seventeen. As physicians, we’ve learned to balance our professional lives with our most important role: being parents to our beautiful 6-year-old son, Gabriel. After multiple rounds of IVF and health challenges, including Jennifer’s battle with Long COVID, we are humbly seeking your help to complete our family.
Our Story
Our journey to grow our family has been filled with alternating joy and heartbreak. After postponing having children due to Jennifer’s work in Haiti (remember Zika?!), we discovered we were unable to conceive naturally. Multiple unsuccessful rounds of IUI ensued. Through IVF, we were blessed with our son Gabriel in 2018, who is the light of our lives.
We knew we wanted to expand our family. Every stage of helping Gabriel grow and develop has brought new wonder, challenges and immense joy; parenting is the most rewarding and fulfilling role we’ve ever had. This profound connection with Gabriel only strengthened our desire to welcome another child into our lives. As soon as he finished breastfeeding, we embarked on new rounds of IVF, but this time we were left without any genetically viable embryos. Jennifer then suffered an incomplete miscarriage at the height of the pandemic, with limited access to care, and many months later had a D&C. We were physically and emotionally shattered, and knew we needed help.
Jennifer’s sister offered to help as an egg donor, and with eight high-quality embryos, we were filled with hope and excitement again, and tremendous gratitude for her gift of egg donation. We grew to love this idea that there are many different ways of building a family.
Then, in the same month that we were going to transfer an embryo, Jennifer got sick. Really sick. (https://healthydebate.ca/2022/05/topic/long-covid-crisis-women/) She has been public (https://broadview.org/mother-doctor-long-covid/) about her experience (https://hospitalnews.com/an-er-doctors-experience-with-long-covid-my-symptoms-seemed-endless/) and suffering with Long COVID, with the hope of helping others (https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-82-here-and-now-toronto/clip/16041130-toronto-emergency-physician-talks-living-long-covid). It has been a life-defining illness. After years of clinical trials, hundreds of treatments, and forced rest, her health improved.
Four unsuccessful embryo transfers later, however, we’ve come to understand that surrogacy is the best path forward for expanding our family. Biopsies, blood thinners, steroids, induced menopause – even an unmedicated cycle – Jen’s body has simply said “no”. People with Long COVID have immune issues that likely affect the ability of the embryo to survive. We have four remaining high-quality, genetically tested embryos; surrogacy is our best hope to give them a chance to grow into our long awaited and anticipated infant.
Who We Are
Jennifer is a joyful and loving person who lights up any room. She’s an incredible cook and homemaker while excelling in her career and leadership roles. Her bubbly personality and warmth make her a natural nurturer. She loves costume parties, travel, and new adventures. She sings in choirs and in the shower. Before getting sick she played many sports at a solid beginner to intermediate level with great gusto and enthusiasm, and has been able to slowly get back to yoga and rock climbing. Jennifer is passionate about her work, focused on improving healthcare access for underserved communities. She worked in low resource settings to improve access to reproductive health, maternal and newborn care before becoming a physician. As a result, she has a large network of friends all over the globe from her previous work in public health.
Chris is thoughtful, caring, and introspective. He loves playing jazz piano and enjoys outdoor activities with Gabriel. Chris is wholly dedicated to fostering Gabriel’s growth, spending hours each day reading, teaching music, and playing all of the games. He reads to Gabriel in French, despite this NOT being his mother tongue, and as I write this, they are reading a French National Geographic from 2003 explaining artificial insemination of pandas, followed by an introduction to the waltz ¾ time signature. For real. Chris is an amazing father – raised by a single mother. He is the type of person who did a PhD because he was interested in the subject, and brings textbooks on holidays. He takes a similarly curious and ‘slow and steady’ approach to everything he does – a perfect counterpoint to Jen’s exuberance! His colleagues and patients adore him (yes this is Jen writing this).
We can’t wait for our surrogate to meet Gabriel. To spend time with him is to understand why we have been trying so hard to make him a sibling. He is simply the best. He loves anything science, crystal growing, rocks, music, Furbies, and Lego. This week he loves chess and Monopoly. Who knows what else he will love in two weeks’ time. He is dramatic and fun, silly and goofy, a big giggler, and like his mom, he loves singing and dancing.
Our home is filled with love, laughter, and music. We enjoy:
– Skiing and snowshoeing around our cottage in Quebec
– Kayaking and swimming in the summer
– Cooking family meals together
– Biking around Toronto with great caution
– Playing chess, puzzles, Blokus and Monopoly (Gabriel’s new thing, to our great chagrin)
Our aspirations as parents
As parents, we hope to instill values of kindness, empathy, and resilience in our children. We are committed to a nurturing environment, encouraging their curiosity and supporting their dreams. We want to raise them to be confident, compassionate individuals who contribute positively to the world around them.
Our team, our village
Together, we make a strong team, balancing our careers with family life. Gabriel goes to school in French close to the hospital where Chris works every day, so he does drop off and pick up. Jennifer works downtown with a mix of research, leadership, shifts in the hospital and clinics. We coordinate schedules constantly to make it work, which it does.
We are fortunate to have a supportive family network. Chris’ mother moved from Vancouver to be close to use, and lives across the street. She and Gabriel are so incredibly close, and see each other almost every day. We are lucky to have Chris’ family close by in Toronto and Pickering, with Jennifer’s family spread out in Quebec and PEI but close using Facetime and Messenger. We have a village of beautiful friends and neighbours in Toronto, and even in the Laurentians in Quebec where we have a little cottage by a beautiful lake where we are privileged to kayak, swim, snowshoe and ski.
Our Promise to Our Surrogate
We are committed to supporting our surrogate throughout this journey. We promise to:
– Provide full financial support for all pregnancy-related expenses
– Offer emotional support and open communication
– Be as involved as our surrogate is comfortable with, including attending appointments and ultrasounds
– Honor our surrogate’s choices and privacy
– Be honest with our children about their origins – that it took your generosity to bring them into the world!
– Maintain a relationship after birth, if desired, with updates and photos
We understand the incredible gift that a surrogate is offering, and we are committed to ensuring your comfort and well-being throughout the process. Our medical backgrounds allow us to empathize with the physical and emotional aspects of pregnancy, and Jennifer has been through this herself and knows firsthand the sacrifice that you are making to help us. We will be there every step of the way to provide support and understanding.
Thank you so much for considering us on this journey. We are grateful for the opportunity to share our story with you. We look forward to the possibility of connecting with you and answering any questions you may have about us. Your generosity and kindness in considering surrogacy is a reminder that there is so much good in the world.