Ryan:
I am 42 years old and work in Human Resources for a Canadian retailer. Born in Montreal, I moved to Mississauga, where we currently reside. I have an older brother in Ottawa and my parents live close by in Mississauga. I have a large extended family and many friends within the Greater Toronto Area and across Canada. I like to stay active with various outdoor sports, landscaping, and gardening in the summer.

Mirelle:
I am 39 years old and born in New Orleans, Louisiana where my parents currently reside. I work in Accounting for a distributor in Oakville, ON. I have an older brother who is married with two daughters in Denver, Colorado, and a sister in Dallas, TX. I am very close to my siblings, and we meet up a few times a year. I moved from New Orleans to Arlington, Virginia and settled in Mississauga, Ontario after we got married.

Our Story:
Our love story began in Arlington, Virginia, in 2011. We met through a mutual friend while Ryan was visiting Washington, DC. Our friendship quickly blossomed into a fun-loving, adventurous bond that grows stronger each day. After dating for two years and frequently meeting across various cities in Canada and the USA, Ryan proposed to his “Southern Belle Mirelle.” We celebrated our wedding in 2013 with family and friends in New Orleans. Mirelle then immigrated to Canada and became a Canadian citizen. We now live in Mississauga, Ontario, and continue to build our life together. Our dream is to build and grow our family.

Family is the cornerstone of our love and marriage. Both of us grew up in a tight-knit, loving household. We are very close to our immediate and extended families and cherish family time with their children. In a family, we want to nurture and give a child all the love and attention they deserve. Our parents showed us the meaning of family, and we want to exemplify it in our own home one day. We have two nieces (Mirelle’s brother’s children) that we love as our own. We are also the Godparents of two sweet girls and enjoy activities with them such as sightseeing, shopping, and playing in the park.

We spend a lot of quality time with friends, enjoying barbecues and camping in the summer, game nights, and ice skating and skiing in the winter. We have always demonstrated our loving care and affection toward our family and friends’ children and wish to share our love and values with kids of our own one day.

We have faced numerous challenges on our journey to parenthood. After trying naturally and using cycle monitoring apps, we consulted with our OB/Gyn and underwent several cycles of IUI and ultimately IVF. We experienced emotional highs and lows with positive pregnancy tests that resulted in chemical pregnancies, miscarriages, and ectopic pregnancies. Despite these hardships, we remained each other’s backbone of support. We often get emotional and have upsetting moments as the trials of infertility weigh on our hearts. We always end our day with a hug, knowing that we have each other to lean on and support.

Fertility Steps: After trying naturally for two years, our clinical journey began in 2016 with several cycles of IUI, resulting in a few chemical pregnancies and one ectopic pregnancy. In 2017, we deepened our efforts with IVF. We had a successful retrieval with five PGTA embryos. After a second IVF transfer attempt, we had one successful implantation in October 2018 that sadly resulted in a miscarriage after 10 weeks. In December 2019, we visited my (Mirelle’s) family in New Orleans for Christmas and returned with joyous news of a natural pregnancy. On New Year’s Day 2020, I felt a sharp side pain, leading us to the ER where we were diagnosed with another ectopic pregnancy.

During COVID, we paused our fertility journey. In March 2021, on Ryan’s birthday, we learned we were naturally pregnant again. Unfortunately, in early April 2021, the ecstatic news of a pregnancy was crushed by another ectopic pregnancy diagnosed in the ER.
We utilized the remaining three PGTA embryos by March 2022 without success and thought this was the end of our journey. The medical prognosis was that we could not carry a pregnancy, and surrogacy was our only option.

In 2023, a potential surrogate came forward to help us after learning about our fertility hardships. We completed all medical and legal preparation steps; however, the potential surrogate was not medically cleared. While disappointed, we were filled with hope that altruistic women exist who genuinely want to help potential parents succeed in creating a family.

After another chemical pregnancy in September 2024, we consulted with our fertility doctor, who recommended doing a 2nd IVF retrieval with the intention of finding a surrogate. As part of our re-ignited journey, we did additional diagnostic tests (MRIs, Emma Alice Biopsy, Genetic Panel Tests) to identify any unknown pathology or rule out other factors. Upon completion of all tests, we completed a retrieval in November 2024 in preparation to pursue a surrogate. We now have three PGT-A embryos.

There are many unknown factors for couples like us who face “unexplained infertility.” We are thankful for the opportunity to extend our fertility journey through the hope of a surrogate like you.

We live in a family-friendly neighborhood with schools, playgrounds, daycares, and community centers within walking distance. We have a strong network of friends and family close by with whom we enjoy walks in the parks and bike rides together.

We recently moved into our forever home two years ago. It offers plenty of space for children to grow, play, and be nurtured both inside and outside. We are excited to fill our home with the life, happiness, and excitement of children.

Our daily routine involves full-time jobs and unwinding in the evenings. I (Ryan) am passionate about my career in Human Resources and Total Rewards and established a steady work/life balance in my current position and company. I (Mirelle) enjoy my current Accounting role as a Business Unit Lead and fortunate to be working close to home.

We look forward to healthy dinners together and sharing the excitement of our day. We enjoy watching Netflix shows, going on impromptu date nights, and spending the occasional weekend away. Long weekends often involve local getaways to wineries in Niagara, camping up North, skiing in Blue Mountain, and cottaging in Prince Edward County. We love game nights, completing various-sized puzzles, and exploring fun outings such as paint nights, dance classes, concerts, plays, and sightseeing. After almost 12 years of marriage, we continue to date and look forward to sharing these activities with kids of our own one day.

We stay active through regular bike rides and walks around the neighborhood and enjoy playing tennis, frisbee, and badminton. We love cooking together and trying new recipes using vegetables and herbs from our backyard garden. We also enjoy traveling and learning about other countries and cultures, having visited places like Portugal, Ireland, India, the Middle East, and various parts of the US and Canada.

We are a loving couple who puts family first. As you get to know us, you will see that we are kind, honest, and deserving of a child. We want to support you in carrying our child for us. We value open and honest communication and are trustworthy. We will be with you now, during pregnancy, and post-pregnancy, involved as much as you want us to be.

We have so much love to give and wish to create a lasting relationship with you as our surrogate and our child, sharing pictures and text updates of our new family member.

We want you to know that we want to be as involved as possible, respecting your comfort level. We are committed to assisting you in every way we can. You will be a big part of our family, and we want to send you frequent updates of our child. We hope to continue a friendship with regular correspondence and family gatherings, within your interest and convenience.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and profile. We are deeply grateful for your consideration in helping us create the family we’ve always dreamed of. Your willingness to embark on this journey with us brings our dream of starting a family one step closer to reality.

Thank you for your kindness, altruism and generosity, and for considering us as intended parents. We hope to share this incredible journey with you!