The Other C

Feeling so privileged to be able to pursue surrogacy with C, we had just one minor (read: massive) hurdle to jump. C is for clinic. We needed a clinic... not as easy to come by as we had presumed.

C immediately began taking steps to get ready. She consulted her own OBGYN, looked at her calendar and we kept chatting away. When I told her I was unsure we could find a clinic here, she was even cheerful when I told her California and Mexico would be the alternates. (She did admit later that after we chatted she asked her partner if he believed I was serious when I mentioned Mexico!). 

For my part, I went to Google. I phoned most, if not all, the clinics in Toronto. Some did not do surrogacy at all. Some did not do surrogacy with a known surrogate (vs. connected through an agency). There were two that responded kindly and said that they might be able to help us.

After a couple weeks of waiting we finally had our first appointment via video conference with Dr. S. The appointment started two hours late. We sat in a hot, stuffy hospital meeting room, starving. Anxious. Scared. She finally arrived and asked what she could do for us. When we told her simultaneous transfer she expressed surprise at the request and asked why. My partner explained our history while I cried, feeling overwhelmed by the loss of Patrick and Maggie while also considering this doctor our last Ontario-based hope in moving forward. 

And then she said she could understand why we wanted this. It sounded like a yes, but I was not ready to bank on it. We completed a long meeting, discussing time lines, embryo transfers, and patient history. As things were winding down, I looked at her (the screen) and said "So, you're saying yes? Yes? We can do this?". She was surprised again and said yes. Then I cried. I had found support in a doctor. We could really do this. Time to push forward. Thank you universe for C and Dr. S.

xx