We always believe that sister is your first and closest friend you make, and it has proved once again.
A woman who has no kids due to some problem shared how her sister has offered to carry her husband’s baby to fulfill his dream to become a father before he dies.
Jennifer, 37, and Jonny McMillan, from Belfast, want kids desperately and have been trying to conceive for nine years.
Jonny, 38, was diagnosed with ependymoma, rare cancer which develops in the brain and spinal cord, and earlier this year he was told that it’s untreatable.
But becoming a father is his only dream, and so Jennifer’s sister Christina Beattie, 40, has offered to be a surrogate for the couple.
‘Jonny refuses to ask how much time he’s got left, but we know the clock is ticking,’ explains Jennifer, 37, who got together with Jonny ten years ago.
‘If we want Jonny to be at the birth of his child, to change nappies, get up for night feeds and push a swing in the park, then every day counts.
‘I desperately want to give him a chance to be a daddy before he dies. It’ll be his lasting legacy.’
Jennifer already has a son, Jay, from her previous relationship, when Jennifer and Jonny met he was just four years old. Jonny treats him just like his own son.
‘Jonny has always been a brilliant step-dad,’ she said. ‘He used to spend hours painstakingly building Lego sets – only for Jay to come along and smash them up!
‘One Christmas we bought Jay a bike, and Jonny took him straight to our local park to teach him how to ride it. As he got older they went on fishing trips together – although Jay always moaned about the lack of WiFi by the river!’
Jonny is an amazing step-father but he’d always wanted kids of his own, so the couple started trying. They even had a cycle of IVF in 2012 but failed to fall pregnant.
‘We were only entitled to one freecycle on the NHS and it was too pricey to have another go,’ Jennifer recalled.
Jonny added: ‘We decided to just keep trying and see what happened. I always say that if somethings meant for you, then it’ll come your way.’
They tied the knot in 2014 and went for their honeymoon to Egypt. When they returned home Jonny began complaining of a severe headache at the base of his skull.
Jennifer explained: ‘He was a typical man, I was used to him complaining of man-flu every time he caught a sniffle. But this was something different.
‘Over the space of 13 weeks he went to our GP 27 times, but the doctors put it down to the stress and the excitement of our wedding, or a virus, doling out painkillers and even antidepressants.
‘Jonny was desperate for help. He even told me one day that he thought he’d got a brain tumor, but I told him not to be overdramatic. He was only 33.’
One Sunday in November 2014, Jonny’s condition became very serious that Jennifer decided to take him to A&E at Belfast’s Ulster Hospital.
‘I’ll never forget it,’ says Jennifer. ‘I almost fell off the trolley in shock. The doctor told us they’d found a large mass on Jonny’s brain, which they were pretty sure was a tumor.
‘Jonny hardly batted an eyelid; he said he’d been expecting it. He’d been right all along.’
A week later Jonny underwent brain surgery, doctors cut away the tumor and fit a shunt to relieve the pressure.
‘The treatment knocked him sideways,’ recalled Jennifer. ‘It broke my heart watching him being sick six or seven times a day.
‘Some days he was so weak that me and Jay, who was 12 at the time, had to carry him out to the car for the short drive to the hospital.
‘I remember Jay asking me one evening if Jonny was going to die. I told him “no” – the medicine would fix him for us.’
‘Doctors said Jonny had four new tumors on his spinal cord,’ Jennifer said. ‘I thought it’d mean more surgery, but instead, they said they wouldn’t operate this time.
‘The doctor said Jonny’s cancer was like a weed. Every time you pull a weed out of the ground, it grows back again somewhere else.
‘They would continue to monitor cancer, and he may be offered chemotherapy or more surgery if any of the tumors became operable. But he couldn’t be cured. They told us to go home and enjoy life while we could; make memories.’
After breaking the news to their families, Jennifer asked Jonny whether he’d like to make a bucket list. Jonny’s reply left her stunned.
‘I’ve done lots of exciting things in my life,’ explained Jonny. ‘I wasn’t bothered about traveling or skydiving; anything like that. The one thing I wanted was to be a daddy. I’d always wanted a baby of my own.’
It was the only thing Jennifer hadn’t been able to give him. But then her sister Christina Beattie, 40, came to help the couple.
‘I told them I’d have their baby,’ she said. ‘I didn’t hesitate; it just came out. As soon as Jonny said he wanted a baby, I knew I wanted to help them. For me, it’s the greatest gift I could give.
‘I told them I’d be their surrogate; using Jennifer’s eggs and Jonny’s sperm. I’ve got four kids of my own so we know my body can carry children. It seemed like the best and quickest way to success.’
Jennifer and Jonny were so happy with her kind gesture; asking her to think about it very carefully.
‘Jonny had already had to give up work because of his cancer, so we were getting by on my wage as a pharmacy advisor alone,’ said Jennifer. ‘There was no way we could afford it.
‘So in September 2019, we started a campaign through Go Fund Me to raise the money. Our friends and family immediately got behind us.
Jennifer and Jonny are excited to begin their IVF treatment as soon as possible.
Christina said: ‘Jonny has a bumpy road ahead, but children bring such joy. If there was a baby there would always be something for them to look forward to.
‘Jonny is such a good man, he’s been a great step-father to Jay and has made Jennifer so happy. He deserves to have a child of his own.’
Recommended Video
“Boy Hides Microphone In His Backpack And Goes To School. Two Teachers Are Fired The Next Day”
[rumble video_id=v34txi domain_id=u7nb2]