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Smithers and Richmond families bond over surrogacy

Possibly a first surrogate birth in the Smithers maternity ward
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Milo Jay, a baby born via a surrogate in Smithers, possibly a first for BVDH. (Contributed photo)

Little boys are made from snips and snails and puppy dog tails and sometimes a serendipitous social media connection.

When a Richmond couple started looking more than a year ago for a surrogate to carry their second child, they had no idea the search would lead them to Smithers.

But on October 18, Rachel Eller gave birth to Katya Ballos’ and Jason Trigg’s baby at the Bulkley Valley District Hospital, possibly a first surrogate birth in the Smithers maternity ward.

The journey started a few years ago when Katya was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Her first baby boy was only eight months old at the time. However, she knew she wanted more children so before starting cancer treatment, she had some of her eggs retrieved and fertilized by Jason’s sperm. The resulting embryos were frozen.

“The idea was to one day look into it,” Katya said. “We were really focused on the treatment. So we weren’t even thinking about it there. But we obviously had to do it then or not at all. So we did it and then we knew they were frozen and safe.”

Her cancer treatment ended in July 2019. Later that year, Katya and Jason started researching surrogacy and their options.

“We started thinking about it and researching it, and looking online and reading the laws and all of the ins and outs of that, because we really only heard about it in the Hollywood world, and we didn’t know any details or anything about it,” she said.

They then started searching for someone to carry their baby. They wrote an email and put a message out on Facebook, seeing if anyone was interested in helping them out. One friend offered and they started the process of counselling and medical tests to make sure everything was a good match.

Then the pandemic hit and put everything on hold.

“At that time, our friend said she couldn’t do it anymore. So things in her life had changed and really the world had changed,” Katya said. “We were really sad, but we totally understood and don’t want to make anyone do anything they didn’t want to do. And that wasn’t right for her and her family at that time.”

Katya and Jason allowed themselves some time to grieve that option and then put the word out again that they were looking for a surrogate. Katya is a teacher and one of her friends who is also a teacher offered to spread the word on an Instagram group with other teachers.

That’s where fellow teacher and Smithers resident Rachel saw the call.

Around the same time Rachel saw the post, she had recently lost her cousin, who was also a young mom, to cancer.

“I just couldn’t stop thinking about this family and that I was healthy and seeing what my cousin went through, and how that could happen to anyone. I just thought I can’t take this for granted that I’m healthy,” she said.

She first talked with her husband, Jordan, about it, who was surprised initially but supportive of the idea. Her two young children were also supportive and encouraged her.

Rachel reached out Katya and the two began to talk and get to know each other. They had a lot in common and Rachel said they just clicked.

“It was unreal,” said Katya after Rachel offered to be her surrogate.

When Katya told her husband the good news, he was shocked.

“He was, like, ‘I haven’t even met her. How could this person want to do something like this?’ I think it really speaks to how incredible her character is, but she was, like, ‘why not?’”

Everyone had to go through counselling and Rachel had medical checks, hormone injections and had to take other pills before the embryo transfer happened in January of this year.

The transfer was successful. It was a different pregnancy for Rachel, compared to her own previous ones. She was sick the whole time, but she said it was worth it.

Katya and Jason flew into Smithers when Rachel was 38 weeks pregnant but the baby was overdue, meaning the family ended up being in town for about a month. They had to move Airbnbs three times. At one point, all the hotels were booked so Rachel put out a Facebook post asking if anyone might have space available and she said a couple of people offered up their homes.

“People in this community have been so generous and supportive,” Rachel added.

Rachel was eventually induced and when she finally did go into labour, Rachel’s husband Jordan and a doula helped her labour at home with Katya and Jason by her side and then they went to the hospital.

Katya said it was incredible watching her own baby be born.

It was a difficult birth, but the baby boy, who Katya and Jason named Milo, and Rachel are now doing well.

Rachel is recovering at home with some time off work.

While Northern Health can’t confirm it, the nurses in the hospital told them this was the first surrogate birth at the Smithers hospital.

The baby’s middle name has a nod to Rachel’s cousin who died and inspired her to be the surrogate.

The Ballos/Trigg family is also now back at their own home in Richmond, soaking up the newborn snuggles and still in disbelief that their dreams have come true.

“Now we have this baby, that’s right here that we can hold and touch and kiss and all that stuff. And it still feels unreal,” said Katya.

The other incredible piece of this puzzle is that she has also been able to breastfeed her baby. She started taking medication when Rachel was pregnant and started pumping. She is exclusively nursing him and bonding with him in a way she didn’t think was even possible.

The baby’s birthday came exactly one year and one day later after the two women starting talking.

Katya said all the stars aligned to make expanding her family happen and she is beyond grateful for Rachel’s incredible gift.


@MariscaDekkema
marisca.bakker@interior-news.com

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Marisca Bakker

About the Author: Marisca Bakker

Marisca was born and raised in Ontario and moved to Smithers almost ten years ago on a one-year contract.
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