We (A&M) live in Vancouver where we both grew up. We have a beautiful little girl (MJ) who was born in 2021 through the gift of surrogacy. The three of us and our 10 year old rescue dog have a strong family base and support system being lucky enough to live close to both sets of our daughter’s Grandparents, Great Grandparents, Uncles, Aunts and cousins. Our home is bilingual, speaking both English and French.

MJ is a hilarious, kind, loving, and wildly smart little human. We regularly have other parents share their appreciation for MJ befriending and helping their children. She adores babies and animals and is exceptionally empathetic.

A was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) at birth. She grew up in and out of hospital with her sister and best friend, J, who also had this devastating disease. CF is a chronic disease that affects the lungs, digestive system, reproductive system and many other parts of the body. There is currently no cure for CF. A and J spent hours together doing physiotherapy to try to keep their lungs healthy. They were frequently in hospital running IV medications to fight infections - through all of this they still had a joy filled childhood doing as much 'normal' stuff as possible; school, sports, bonding with animals, and building friendships.

When A was 10 and her sister was 12, CF took J’s life. To say A has never been the same is an understatement. She lost her sister, her best friend. She watched her parents lose their child. It is only in the last couple years, having become a Mama to our daughter MJ, that she has started to heal pieces of her heart that she thought were broken forever. After J died, A did her best to keep living – now living with the loss of her sister on top of battling CF.

At the age of 16, A and M met in our high school theatre program. We quickly fell in love and have now been together for over half of our lives. A often jokes that so much of her life has been hard, but she really crushed it when it came to finding her person.

At 17 years old, A’s lung function started decreasing rapidly. Daily she was on over 50 oral and inhaled medications and was doing around 6 hours of lung physiotherapy to try to stay afloat. She was on IV therapy more often than she was off it. She was in a wheelchair as her lungs couldn’t support her walking. Through all of this, M was with her, supporting her, loving her, and helping to keep her strong.

A’s doctors told her that if she wanted to live, she would need to get a double lung transplant. After years of waiting and deteriorating further, A received a life changing double lung transplant at the age of 19.

4 years after her transplant, M proposed to A at the park near our house. In 2018 we got married and that was the happiest day of our lives, until MJ took over that title when she was born in 2021 through the incredible gift of surrogacy.

The lifelong medications A is now on to stay healthy, combined with a lack of research on lung transplant recipients carrying babies, has led A’s doctors to tell A&M that carrying a child would more than likely cost A her life. For as long as she can remember, A has wanted to carry a baby. After many tears and hard discussions, we decided to move forward with surrogacy. Our desire to be a parents outweighed A’s need to carry the baby herself. We were unbelievably lucky to find a woman through a friend of a friend who gave us the most wonderful gift ever, carrying our child. MJ was born in 2021. There were so many things that A didn’t get to experience as a Mama not having her baby inside her, but there were some things that she got experience that moms usually don’t get to. She will never forget the feeling of being the one to catch her baby girl as she was brought into this world. A clutched her baby to her bare chest, M engulfing them both in his arms, and we bawled knowing that we finally had our hearts back.

Watching our daughter grow up into the amazing kid she is and getting to see little glimpses of ourselves and our families in her is surreal. For A and her family getting to see the little moments where MJ looks or acts just like her Auntie J is the most painfully beautiful thing in the world. The gift of surrogacy allowed them to see J live on in the brand new, wild little person that MJ is.

For A, growing up with her sister as her best friend, playing with their pets, going on adventures, comforting one another when life was hard, and getting on each others’ nerves as all good siblings do, was an incredible experience.

M grew up with his big brother, V. From two competitive little boys to the incredible dads they have both become (still a bit competitive on occasion), their bond only grows as the years pass. Trying to get a word in when the two of them start chatting is comically challenging.

We so badly want our little MJ to be able to experience the built-in co-conspirator, arch nemesis, and best friend that M has and that A so sorely misses.

We would truly love to have a second baby. Another baby to hold, love, and protect. We want more than anything to see MJ get a little sibling who she can adore and bother. A baby to love with everything we have and to watch grow up with the most incredible big sister in the world. To see our children build the life long bond that siblings can.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story. If you have any questions about surrogacy, please reach out to us using the contact form below. We will not share your information outside of our family.

Please also share our website with people in your network, it is the best chance for us to find the incredible person who may be able to give the most wonderful gift ever, carrying our child.

Sincerely, A&M, and, unbeknownst to her, MJ

M is the most incredible person I know. We met when we were 16 years old in our high school theatre program and have been together ever since. I always joke that so much of my life was hard, but I really crushed it when it came to finding my person. M is the best partner, friend, and Papa in the world. He is fiercely loving and would do anything for me and our daughter. He is kind and funny and weird. The way he connects with everyone he meets never ceases to amaze me. Having got together so early in life, M and I have been through some of life's most incredible and most traumatic experiences and his support for me and now our daughter never wavers. M loves playing rugby, trail running, playing the guitar, cooking, and absolutely lights up when he gets to share all his passions and create new ones with our little human.

Loving, witty, caring, and goofy are just the start of the list of words I would use to describe A (graceful not included). The joy and love she brings to every day fills our house with laughter and our daughter with giggles. Whether teaching our daughter to ride a horse or teaching her how to approach others with kindness, A is the most incredible partner I could have dreamt of. She never hesitates to be right beside me on my crazy capers, and always willing to laugh with me on those that end in disaster.