We met at a friend’s house in 2016 in London Ontario. Holly was friends with the one of the roommates and Shawn was friends with the other, so it was complete accident, yet fate, that we met. We were both pretty quiet and shy, but Shawn approached Holly. We shared our interests in the Toronto Maple Leafs, Game of Thrones, and reading. After that night, we spent time with each other and eventually began dating. As a couple, we enjoy travelling on small and big journeys, exercising, reading, and spending quality time with our Boston Terrier Frankie. After three years of dating, we got engaged in 2019, and married in 2021. We are grateful to be an aunt and uncle to four nieces and 1 nephew. We both hope to expand our family, and to raise children of our own.

Holly: I grew up in London Ontario. I have one older brother who is a year older than me. My mother worked as a nurse and my father worked as a paralegal. I have a large extended family, with lots of cousins, that I remained close with. As an adult, I am very close with my parents. My parents have always been supportive of my dreams and goals, and were always interested and enthusiastic about my interests. For instance, I enjoyed music and dancing as a child, and my parents always did what they could to encourage me to continue pursuing my interests. Although I do not currently live in the same city as my parents, I connect with them on a daily basis, whether through video messaging or texting. They continue to be central people in our lives.

Shawn: I grew up in Sarnia Ontario. I also have an older brother, but he is four years older than me. My older brother met his current wife when I was thirteen, so she was always considered to be a sister-figure to me. My mother worked as a sales associate at Loblaws Canada and my father worked as a custodian. Although we did not have a big extended family, we had several friends in the Sarnia community. We enjoyed getting together with our friends, and having pool parties, Super Bowl parties, and holiday parties. For our Halloween parties, our friends and families went above and beyond with our costumes and decorations. In 2016, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and passed away in 2021. During this time, our family we received overwhelming support from our community during these difficult years. Growing up, I grew up in a community that showed so much love to our family, and encouraged me to accomplish my career and family dreams.

We began trying to conceive in 2019, but with no success. We met with Omega Fertility in 2020, and proceeded with an egg retrieval. 6 eggs were retrieved, and 6 of those eggs became 3-day embryos. During this time, we did not undergo an embryo transfer, as we wanted to focus on planning our wedding, and we had plans to move to Sudbury in order for Shawn to complete his architecture degree. However, we did try to conceive naturally during this time but with no success. In 2024, we decided that we wanted to proceed with the embryo transfer. Before the procedure, it was discovered that Holly had hydrosalpinx in her right fallopian tube. (Holly’s left ovary and fallopian tube was removed in 2018 due to an ovarian cyst). With this, we were told that the hydrosalpinx in Holly’s fallopian tube can negatively impact implantation. However, we tried two transfers that year, one in April and one in August, but both were unsuccessful. The fertility doctor we worked with referred us to a gynaecological surgeon, to have the fallopian tube removed. However, the surgeon informed us that they would not be able to perform the surgery due to previous abdominal surgeries that Holly went through due to her Crohn’s disease. The surgeon also informed us that if we did have an embryo transfer and that led to a full-term pregnancy, Holly would be at risk of experiencing further health complications during delivery, due to scar tissue from previous surgeries. From this, the surgeon informed us that surrogacy would be the safest route for us.

We currently reside in Sudbury Ontario, but plan to raise our child in London Ontario. When the baby is born, we have secured a home in London Ontario, in the North Centre area. The neighbourhood is walking distance to schools and parks, and near to two hospitals. We intend on placing on child in daycare and public school within these areas.

We have a Boston Terrier named Frankie. Frankie is two years old, and is super playful and snuggly. When we are not working, we enjoy spending time with Frankie, and taking him on walks. We also enjoy exercising, taking part in yoga, kettlebell, and HIIT classes. Shawn obtained his black belt in karate in 2021. We also enjoy attending theatre performances in our community. When we first started dating, we took part in an Improv group at Western University where we met our current group of friends. We also enjoy spending time with our young nieces and nephew.

When supporting our surrogate, we plan to provide open communication and to maintain regular check-ins and to ensure that they feel valued and supported through this incredible journey. Depending on the surrogate’s preference or life circumstances, we want to do our best to include them in our lives as we plan to become parents. This includes attending the baby shower, sharing photos of the new born baby, meeting the child, and any other ways that they would like to be included. When it comes to personalized care, we recognize that everyone is unique in their needs, therefore, we want to ensure that our surrogate’s comfort level is prioritized. This includes involving her decisions relating to the birth plan, and to respect preferences, boundaries, and special requests that they may have.

We will support our surrogate financially in all pregnancy-related costs, including pre-natal supplements, wellness care, clothing, food, fuel for travelling to clinics, and any other financial supports that are required. We also want to ensure fair compensation per legal agreements, covering lost wages (if applicable) and additional needs. As well, we want to ensure she has adequate health and life insurance to protect her well-being.

We are open to ongoing discussions of any costs/expenses that is required.

We hope to have ongoing communication throughout the pre and pregnancy journey. Depending on the location of the surrogate, it would be ideal to have sessions where we can meet with the surrogate in person. If this is not possible, weekly video messaging sessions would be great. We are also open to ongoing text messaging or phone calls whenever the surrogate needs to reach us.

We are open to maintaining communication with the surrogate mother after the birth of our child. This includes sharing photos of the child and visiting the child in person. We are willing to work with what the surrogate mother’s wishes.

Words cannot describe the gratitude and appreciation we have for you. Our struggle with infertility has been one of the most difficult challenges that we have experienced in our lives, which is why we are so grateful that to you for putting your time and energy towards supporting our growing family.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and your consideration to be our surrogate. We are excited to start this journey with you.

Love,